California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Sanchez, E065300 (Cal. App. 2017):
"After the jury have retired for deliberation, . . . if they desire to be informed on any point of law arising in the case, they must require the officer to conduct them into court. Upon being brought into court, the information required must be given . . . ." ( 1138.) "This means the trial 'court has a primary duty to help the jury understand the legal principles it is asked to apply. [Citation.] This does not mean the court must always elaborate on the standard instructions. Where the original instructions are themselves full and complete, the court has discretion under section 1138 to determine what additional explanations are sufficient to satisfy the jury's request for information. [Citation.] Indeed, comments diverging from the standard are often risky. [Citation.]' [Citation.] However, '[a] definition of a commonly used term may nevertheless be required if the jury exhibits confusion over the term's meaning.'" (People v. Solis (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 1002, 1015 (Solis).)
We apply the abuse of discretion standard of review when examining whether a trial court erred in fulfilling its obligation under section 1138. (People v. Lua (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 1004, 1017.)
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