Is it proper for a judge to instruct prospective jurors that they must follow all instructions of law?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Harrington, 138 Cal.App.2d Supp. 902, 291 P.2d 584 (Cal. Super. 1955):
(4) During the voir dire it is proper for the judge to instruct the prospective jurors that they are required to follow all instructions of law which the court gives them and then to ask: 'Will you, to the best of your ability, follow all instructions of law which I give you?' This practice was approved in People v. Edenburg, 1928, 88 Cal.App. 558, 263 P. 857, and is the one we recommend to trial judges.
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