Can a jury consider the issue of heat of passion before considering the charge of murder?

^1. In his reply brief, appellant claims these instructions should have been given before the instructions on murder, and by failing to do so, the court improperly directed the jury to decide the murder charges before considering the issue of heat of passion. However, contrary to appellant's suggestion, the instructions were not worded so as to require an acquittal on the murder charges before allowing the jury to consider the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Rather, they merely restricted the jury from returning a verdict of voluntary manslaughter before acquitting on the murder charges, which was entirely proper. (People v. Berryman (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1048, 1073, overruled on another ground in People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 823, fn. 1.) Because the court told the jurors they could consider the various kinds of homicide described in the instructions "in whatever order you wish," appellant's claim is not well taken.