California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Azevedo, A144608 (Cal. App. 2017):
"It is error to give an instruction which, while correctly stating a principle of law, has no application to the facts of the case." (People v. Guiton (1993) 4 Cal.4th 1116, 1129.) The error is one of state law, and when there is error, we reverse only "if it is reasonably probable the result would have been more favorable to the defendant had the error not occurred. [Citation.] [] In determining whether there was prejudice, the entire record should be examined, including the facts and the instructions, the arguments of
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counsel, any communications from the jury during deliberations, and the entire verdict." (Id. at p. 1130.)
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