California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Wyatt, A144872 (Cal. App. 2018):
When a defendant is charged with murder, a trial court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on self-defense when "it appears that the defendant is relying on such a defense, or if there is substantial evidence supportive of such a defense and the defense is not inconsistent with the defendant's theory of the case." (People v. Sedeno (1974) 10 Cal.3d 703, 716, overruled on other grounds in People v. Breverman (1998) 19 Cal.4th 142, 165.) Similarly, the court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on imperfect self-defense if the "evidence is such that a jury could reasonably conclude that the defendant killed the victim in the unreasonable but good faith belief in having to act in self-defense." (People v. Barton (1995) 12 Cal.4th 186, 200-201.)
2. Application
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