What is the test for a jury's interpretation of an instruction in an attempted murder case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Deck, G057168 (Cal. App. 2020):

Deck contends the attempt instructions unduly expanded the temporal scope of an attempt, "allow[ing] a conviction based on a speculative future intent/attempt which could have occurred sometime on the 19th or reasonably close to that date." We independently review whether a jury instruction correctly states the law. (People v. Posey (2004) 32 Cal.4th 193, 218.) Where "the claim is that the instruction is ambiguous and therefore subject to an erroneous interpretation," "the proper inquiry in such a case is

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whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied the challenged instruction in a way that prevents the consideration of constitutionally relevant evidence." (Boyde v. California (1990) 494 U.S. 370, 380.)

1. Relevant background

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