Jury instructions: lesser related offenses., the official text

An act to amend Section 1159 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law authorizes the finder of fact in a criminal prosecution to find the defendant guilty of an offense that is necessarily included in the charged offense. Case law requires the trial court to instruct the jury that it must find the defendant guilty of a necessarily included offense if there is substantial evidence that the defendant is guilty of the necessarily included offense.
This bill would require the court, if requested by a defendant, to instruct the jury on a lesser offense, which is closely related to the offense charged, if the court finds that the defendant has relied on a theory of defense consistent with a conviction for the lesser offense, the evidence of the lesser offense is relevant to and admitted for the purpose of establishing guilt of the charged offense, and a basis exists on which the jury could find the offense to be less than charged. The bill would also authorize the judge to find the defendant guilty of the lesser offense if there is no jury. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the bill restores rights previously found by the California Supreme Court in People v. Geiger (1984) 35 Cal.3d 510.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 1159 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
1159.
(a) A jury, or a judge if a jury trial is waived, may find a defendant guilty of an offense, the commission of which is necessarily included in that with which the defendant is charged, or of an attempt to commit the offense.
(b) A jury, or a judge if a jury trial is waived, upon request of a defendant, may find the defendant guilty of a lesser offense, the commission of which is closely related to the offense with which the defendant is charged, if the court determines that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The defendant relies on a theory of defense that is consistent with a conviction for the lesser offense.
(2) The evidence of the lesser offense is relevant to and admitted for the purpose of establishing whether the defendant is guilty of the charged offense.
(3) A basis exists, other than an unexplainable rejection of prosecution evidence, on which the jury could find the offense to be less than that charged.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting subdivision (b) to restore the right of a defendant to receive jury instructions on lesser related offenses as originally guaranteed by the California Supreme Court in People v. Geiger (1984) 35 Cal.3d 510.