What is the test for determining whether an instruction is erroneous?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lang, 264 Cal.Rptr. 386, 49 Cal.3d 991, 782 P.2d 627 (Cal. 1989):
"In deciding whether an instruction is erroneous, we ascertain at the threshold what the relevant law provides. We next determine what meaning the charge conveys in this regard. Here the question is, how would a reasonable juror understand the instruction.... Finally, we determine [782 P.2d 672] whether the instruction, so understood, states the applicable law correctly." (People v. Warren (1988) 45 Cal.3d 471, 487, 247 Cal.Rptr. 172, 754 P.2d 218.)
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