Opinion ID: 1801948
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Denial of requested instruction regarding guilty verdict

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred in refusing his request to instruct the jurors that they could not consider the guilty verdict and special circumstance findings as aggravating factors. He asserts the error violated his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution. But we have concluded that such an instruction is unnecessary in light of the other instructions, and . . . inconsistent with CALJIC No. 8.85, which allows the jurors to consider all the evidence in the case, including the circumstances of the crime and the existence of any special circumstances found true. ( People v. Cook (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1334, 1363 [58 Cal.Rptr.3d 340, 157 P.3d 950].) As we have explained, CALJIC No. 8.85 does not tell the jury that it may consider the crime itself, but only the circumstances surrounding the crime, as an aggravating circumstance. ( People v. Cook, supra, at p. 1363, citing People v. Siripongs (1988) 45 Cal.3d 548, 581, fn. 11 [247 Cal.Rptr. 729, 754 P.2d 1306].) Accordingly, the jury was not misled, and there was no need for a clarifying instruction. (See People v. Siripongs, at p. 581, fn. 11.)