What is the current state of the law on "impromptu instruction on reasonable doubt"?

"[A]ppellate courts have long cautioned against 'an impromptu instruction on reasonable doubt.' [Citations.] . . . [V]arying from the standard is a 'perilous exercise.' " (People v. Freeman (1994) 8 Cal.4th 450, 503-504.) In assessing a trial court's charge to the jury, including any elaborations or

Page 11

explanations of the standard instructions, we must consider the instructions as a whole. (People v. Campos (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 1228, 1237.) In the context of the entire charge, an instruction can only be found to be ambiguous or misleading if there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury misconstrued or misapplied its words. (Id. at p. 1237.)