What is the test for a jury to find a defendant guilty of a charge of aider and abettor liability in a sexual assault case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Gutierrez, B300949 (Cal. App. 2020):

This court affirmed defendant's conviction. (People v. Gutierrez, supra, B132212.) On appeal, he challenged the language of the jury instructions given on aider and abettor liability, specifically that part of the instruction that aiders and abettors are "equally guilty" as direct offenders. The jury had been instructed in the language of CALJIC Nos. 3.00 and 3.01. Defendant suggested that the "equally guilty" words, when taken out of context, enabled the jury to find him guilty even if he did not possess the necessary mental state for aider and abettor liability. We concluded the jury instructions in their entirety properly set forth the requirements for aider and abettor liability, including that the aider and abettor of a specific intent crime must share the perpetrator's specific intent.

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