Opinion ID: 2584774
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Instruction on First or Second Degree Murder

Text: Defendant faults the trial court for instructing the jury: If you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt and unanimously agree that the crime of murder has been committed by the defendant, but you unanimously agree that you have a reasonable doubt whether the murder was of the first or the second degree, you must give the defendant the benefit of the doubt and return a verdict fixing the murder as of the second degree. He argues that requiring the jury to first unanimously agree to acquit a defendant of a greater charge before convicting the defendant of a lesser charge violated his state and federal constitutional rights to due process and a jury trial because it precluded the jury from fully considering lesser included offenses. As defendant concedes, we have in the past rejected this argument. ( People v. Fields (1996) 13 Cal.4th 289, 309 [52 Cal.Rptr.2d 282, 914 P.2d 832].) We see no reason to revisit the issue here. ( People v. Cox (2003) 30 Cal.4th 916, 967 [135 Cal.Rptr.2d 272, 70 P.3d 277].)