California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Perdomo, B263533 (Cal. App. 2016):
To be convicted of first degree premeditated murder, each perpetrator and aider and abettor must have personally premeditated the murder. (People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155, 166-167.) Appellants argue the jury never made this finding because the premeditation question on the verdict form was phrased in the passive voice and did not expressly specify that each appellant personally premeditated. They also argue the instructions did not adequately inform the jury it had to find each appellant personally premeditated. When viewed in the context of the record, however, neither the verdict form nor the instructions permitted the jury to convict appellants of premeditated murder without finding they personally premeditated.9
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