What is the effect of instructing the jury to simply "simply determine under the relevant evidence" in a jury trial?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Nicolaus, 286 Cal.Rptr. 628, 54 Cal.3d 551, 817 P.2d 893 (Cal. 1991):

He argues that instructing the jury to "simply" determine under the relevant evidence which penalty is justified "trivialized the enormity of the sentencing task and undermined the jury's sense of responsibility and gravity about its role." We have recently rejected the identical claim, finding that the instruction's utilization of the adverb "simply" merely "describe[s] the mechanics of the jury's normative process." (People v. Cox (1991) 53 Cal.3d 618, 680, 280 Cal.Rptr. 692, 809 P.2d 351; People v. Sully (1991) 53 Cal.3d 1195, 1243, 283 Cal.Rptr. 144, 812 P.2d 163.)

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