Does a gang expert have a role in determining whether a defendant committed a crime for a gang purpose?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Gutierrez, F078464 (Cal. App. 2020):

3. To be clear, a gang expert cannot opine directly on a particular defendant's intent or whether he committed a crime for a gang purpose. (People v. Vang, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 1049.) Rather, the expert is permitted only to give an opinion on a hypothetical subject's intent and whether a hypothetical crime was committed for a gang purpose. (Ibid.)

4. The prosecutor posed the following hypothetical question:

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