Is a federal court bound by a state's interpretation of jury instructions?
MultiRegion, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Zinda v. Frauenheim, No. 2:15-cv-1611-KJM-EFB P (E.D. Cal. 2017):
Jury instructions are generally matters of state law and, as such, federal courts are bound by a state appellate court's determination that a particular instruction was not warranted under state law. See Bradshaw v. Richey, 546 U.S. 74, 76 (2005) ("We have repeatedly held that a state court's interpretation of state law, including one announced on direct appeal of the challenged
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