Does a jury instruction violate due process if it fails to give effect to the requirement that the People must prove every element of the offense?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Leon, E059624 (Cal. App. 2015):

A jury instruction violates due process if it fails to give effect to the requirement that the People must prove every element of an offense. (See Sandstrom v. Montana (1979) 442 U.S. 510, 520-521 [61 L. Ed. 2d 39, 99 S.Ct. 2450].) Nonetheless, not every ambiguity, inconsistency, or deficiency in a jury instruction rises to the level of a due

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