California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lee, C086770 (Cal. App. 2019):
determination of whether he was guilty of the offense or directly caused her injuries, the jury needed to determine whether Asia's injuries constituted great bodily injury. While that may not have been seriously contested by defendant, the prosecution still had the burden to prove this element of the allegation. (See Estelle v. McGuire (1991) 502 U.S. 62, 69 [116 L.Ed.2d 385, 396-397] ["[T]he prosecution's burden to prove every element of the crime is not relieved by a defendant's tactical decision not to contest an essential element of the offense"].) The recordings' demonstration that Asia was unable to hold extended conversations and focus on questions asked of her regarding recent events was relevant to the jury's determination of whether her injuries were serious enough to meet the standard for great bodily injury.
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