Opinion ID: 1377397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Give Sua Sponte Cautionary Instruction

Text: (7) Defendant next contends the court should have instructed the jury sua sponte that the testimony of the informer  i.e., Oglesby  should be viewed with caution, and that failure to so instruct violated due process. We recently rejected this claim in People v. Hovey, supra, 44 Cal.3d 543, 565-566. In any event, we note defendant's conviction was not based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of Oglesby. Coward testified as a witness to the 7-Eleven killing; Coleman and the Garretts each testified that defendant confessed to the Brookhaven Motel murders. Oglesby's testimony was further corroborated by a series of notes defendant had given him relating to escape plans. We thus find no reversible error in the court's failure to instruct sua sponte that Oglesby's testimony must be viewed with caution.