California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Vasquez, H035570 (Cal. App. 2011):
" 'In determining whether an instruction interferes with the jury's consideration of evidence presented at trial, we must determine "what a reasonable juror could have understood the charge as meaning." [Citation.] While the initial focus is on the specific instruction challenged [citation], we must also review the instructions as a whole to see if the entire charge delivered a correct interpretation of the law. [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Price (1991) 1 Cal.4th 324, 446.) In this regard, the absence of an essential element in one instruction may be supplied by another or cured in light of the instructions
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