Does the error in a verdict form in a murder case affect a defendant's substantial rights?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Johnson, 190 Cal.Rptr.3d 536, 353 P.3d 266, 61 Cal.4th 734 (Cal. 2015):

Although the verdict form was technically inaccurate, the error was harmless. Because one of the two special circumstances that the jury found true was multiple murder, the verdict form was not entirely incorrect to state that defendant was eligible to receive the death penalty considering that he committed both murders. Technical defects in a verdict may be disregarded if the jury's intent to convict of a specified offense within the charges is unmistakably clear, and the accused's substantial rights suffered no prejudice. (People v. Bolin, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 331, 75 Cal.Rptr.2d 412, 956 P.2d 374.) Here, the jury's intent was unmistakably clear given the applicable law and penalties concerning first degree murder.

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