What is the impact of the court's penalty phase instructions on the elements, burden of proof and evaluation of evidence of prior criminal activity?

Defendant observes that the court's penalty phase instructions included 22 pages devoted to the elements, burden of proof and evaluation of evidence of his prior criminal activity. Although he made no objection to the number or content of these instructions (see 1259), he now asserts their "sheer bulk" may have unduly focused the jury's attention on the "other crimes" issues, distracting it from its primary duty to weigh the aggravating and mitigating factors. (Cf. People v. Phillips (1985) 41 Cal.3d 29, 72-73, fn. 25, 222 Cal.Rptr. 127, 711 P.2d 423.)