California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Daniel William Heath, G040653, Super. Ct. No. RIF117775 (Cal. App. 2011):
Defendants contend the court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the defense to unlawful sale of a security under Corporations Code section 25110 that the defendant has a reasonable, good faith belief that the item sold was not a security. "As a general proposition a defendant is entitled to an instruction as to any recognized defense for which there exists evidence sufficient for a reasonable jury to find in his favor." (Mathews v. United States, supra, 485 U.S. at p. 63.) The record contains insufficient evidence to support this defense. Indeed, defendants conceded they sold securities.
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5. The court erroneously instructed the jury on grand theft by false pretenses, but the error was harmless
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