What is the test for making false or misleading statements?

CALCRIM No. 371 also describes attempts to create false evidence, hide evidence, or obtain false testimony but, unlike CALJIC No. 2.04, the instruction is not expressly limited to "evidence to be produced at the trial." Arguably, the concerns expressed in People v. Jackson are therefore not present.

But, as in People v. Jackson, another instruction more appropriately explained how a jury is to view a defendant's own misleading statements. The court gave CALCRIM No. 362 ("Consciousness of Guilt: False Statements") as follows: "If either of the [d]efendants made a false or misleading statement relating to the charged crime, knowing the statement was false or intending to mislead, that conduct may show he was aware of his guilt of the crime and you may consider it in determining his guilt. You may not consider the statement in deciding any other [d]efendant's guilt. [] If you conclude that the [d]efendant made a statement, it's up to you to decide its meaning and importance. However, evidence that a [d]efendant made such a statement cannot prove guilt by itself."

It is this instruction, rather than CALCRIM No. 371, that most accurately applies to defendant's false statements.