The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Cooper, 94 F.3d 653 (9th Cir. 1996):
Defendant's proposed accomplice instructions were rejected by the district court, however, the district court gave both an informer instruction and a general credibility instruction. This court has held that where the court gives a general instruction charging jurors to weigh the other evidence, the specific caution about accomplice witnesses may not be required. United States v. McSweaney, 517 F.2d 298, 301 (9th Cir.1974). Furthermore, failure to give an instruction combining the reasons for greater caution regarding witness credibility is not, by itself, reversible error. United States v. Bernard, 625 F.2d 854, 857-58 (9th Cir.1980). There is no significant difference between a cautionary instruction on the testimony of an accomplice and a cautionary instruction on an informant. Both instruct the jury that the testimony "be received with caution and weighed with care." Id. at 858, quoting United States v. Morgan, 555 F.2d 238, 242-43 (9th Cir.1977).
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