In a motor vehicle accident case, how have the courts interpreted the standard factor (a)-(b) and (b) instruction in determining the severity of the accident?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Webster, 285 Cal.Rptr. 31, 54 Cal.3d 411, 814 P.2d 1273 (Cal. 1991):

Indeed, we have stressed that any ambiguity in the earlier standard factor (a)-(b) instruction was unlikely to cause prejudice. Unless invited to do so by the prosecutor, we observed, "jurors are unlikely to give the circumstances of the current crime greater weight in the penalty determination simply because they appear to be included in two separate categories of statutory 'aggravation.' " ( People v. Melton, supra, 44 Cal.3d at p. 763, 244 Cal.Rptr. 867, 750 P.2d 741.) No such exploitation occurred here.

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