What is the test for erroneous or erroneous jury instructions in the context of implied-malice murder?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Nieto Benitez, 13 Cal.Rptr.2d 864, 4 Cal.4th 91, 840 P.2d 969 (Cal. 1992):

In determining whether an instruction is erroneous or not, we ascertain whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury misconstrued the words in the context of an individual case. (People v. Clair (1992) 2 Cal.4th 629, 662-663, 688, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 564, 828 P.2d 705.) Though there was no such likelihood here, in another case a reasonable likelihood may arise. Consider a situation in which, in a remote part of a rural county, a hunter, for no apparent reason, fired a bullet into the air at a 45-degree angle, causing a human death on the ground some distance away. The act was illegal because it "could result in injury or death"( 246.3), and was somewhat dangerous even though performed in a thinly populated area. But let us further hypothesize that death as a result was a freak occurrence: there was uncontested evidence that the bullet was far more likely to strike the ground or a tree than a human being. There was no high probability that the act would result in death; the act's natural consequences were not dangerous to human life. But the "natural consequences dangerous to life" language is vague enough to those unschooled in the nuances of the law of homicide that a lay jury might nevertheless vote to convict the hunter of implied-malice murder. If a reviewing court concluded there was a reasonable likelihood the jury misconstrued the instruction, the judgment of conviction would be reversed.

Other Questions


Does a jury's finding on a felony-murder special-circumstance allegation based on erroneous instruction that a jury would not have convicted appellant of second degree murder if the jury had been given the same instruction? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant who requests instruction on a lesser-related charge of assault that includes the elements of implied malice murder be able to complain about the second degree murder instruction on appeal? (California, United States of America)
What are the findings of the California Superior Court of Appeal on the grounds that the instructions given by defendant in his conspiracy to commit felony murder were not tantamount to felony murder instructions? (California, United States of America)
How have courts used the felony murder special circumstance findings to demonstrate that instructional errors on other aspects of the murder instructions are harmless? (California, United States of America)
How have the courts interpreted the instructions in the context of manslaughter instructions in cases where the instruction was limited or limited? (California, United States of America)
Does a jury have to consider felony murder or premeditated murder before it considers the lesser included offense of second degree murder? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant seek to overturn a conviction for second-degree murder by appealing against the finding that the trial court failed to instruct on the charge of second degree murder? (California, United States of America)
Does the trial court have a duty to instruct the jury as to the elements of first degree murder and the required mens rea for first-degree murder? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for a trial court to instruct on second degree murder as a lesser included offense of felony murder? (California, United States of America)
Does a trial court have to instruct the jury to agree unanimously whether defendant committed premeditated murder or first degree felony murder? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.