What is a trial court's sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on general principles of law?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Cry, C082987, C083380 (Cal. App. 2020):
A trial court's sua sponte duty to " 'instruct on general principles of law that are . . . necessary to the jury's understanding of the case[]' . . . comes into play when a statutory term 'does not have a plain, unambiguous meaning,' has a 'particular and restricted meaning' [citation], or has a technical meaning peculiar to the law or an area of law [citation]." (People v. Roberge (2003) 29 Cal.4th 979, 988.)
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