Section 190.4 - Special circumstances

1 Analyses of this statute by attorneys

  1. Capital Defense Weekly, April 5, 1999

    Capital Defense NewsletterApril 5, 1999

    There was no constitutional error in the selection and composition of the grand jury that returned Rich's indictment.Jury Instructions.Rich claims that the trial court misled the jury by failing to instruct, after the jury had reached a temporary impasse, that a failure to reach agreement on penalty would result in a life sentence. This argument fails because such an instruction would have been contrary to California Penal Code section 190.4(b) and inconsistent with established caselaw that a trial court need not inform a jury of the consequences of deadlock. See People v. Memro, 905 P.2d 1305, 1359, 11 Cal. 4th 786, 882 (Cal.