California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Williams, 2d Crim. No. B271404 (Cal. App. 2018):
When evidence is admissible for one purpose and inadmissible for others, the trial court shall, upon request, instruct the jury as to the proper scope of the evidence. (Evid. Code, 355.) Absent a request, the court generally has no duty to provide a limiting instruction. (People v. Smith (2007) 40 Cal.4th
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483, 516.) But "there might be 'an occasional extraordinary case in which . . . sua sponte instruction [is] needed to protect the defendant.'" (People v. Mendoza (2011) 52 Cal.4th 1056, 1094.) We independently review whether such an instruction was required here. (People v. Guiuan (1998) 18 Cal.4th 558, 569.)
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