Is it wrong to instruct the jury on the theory of murder by lying in wait?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Kober, A144771 (Cal. App. 2016):

Even were it error to instruct the jury on the theory of murder by lying in wait, any error is harmless. "[I]nstruction on an unsupported theory is prejudicial only if that theory became the sole basis of the verdict of guilt; if the jury based its verdict on the valid ground, or on both the valid and the invalid ground, there would be no prejudice, for there would be a valid basis for the verdict. . . . [T]he appellate court should affirm the judgment unless a review of the entire record affirmatively demonstrates a reasonable probability that the jury in fact found the defendant guilty solely on the unsupported theory." (People v. Guiton (1993) 4 Cal.4th 1116, 1130.) This principle is founded on the recognition that "jurors are well equipped to analyze the evidence," making it unlikely

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that a " 'jury convicted on a ground that was not supported by adequate evidence when there existed alternative grounds for which the evidence was sufficient.' " (Griffin v. United States (1991) 502 U.S. 46, 59-60.)

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