People v. Prettyman

14 Cal.4th 248 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Prettyman (D) and Bray (D1) were charged with the murder of Gaylord Van Camp and with conspiring to murder Van Camp. Van Camp was beaten to death with a steel pipe. When police arrived at the scene of the crime both D, and D1 attempted to show them that someone other than D had killed Van Camp when in fact it was D who had done so (All the facts are on page 498-499 Boyce 8th). The trial court instructed the jury in aiding and abetting for D1, and the judge sua sponte instructed the jury regarding the liability of an aider and abettor for the natural probable consequences of the commission of the crime. However, the court failed to follow the 1992 Revision of the CALJIC No 3.02 which required the judge to specify the possible criminal acts that D1 might have originally contemplated nor did the trial court give an instruction describing the elements of any such crime. D1 was convicted, and the Court of Appeals affirmed but held that the trial court must name and define any target or predicate offense that the accomplice might originally have assisted or encouraged.