P.

P. v. Diaz CA4/3

Good Law
Court of Appeal of CaliforniaJuly 31, 2013G046513California4,432 words

Opinion

Opinion

Fybel, J.

INTRODUCTION

A jury convicted Joseph Felix Diaz of one count of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) and found that, in committing murder, he personally used a firearm (id., § 12022.5, subd. (a)) and discharged a firearm causing death (id., 1 § 12022.53, subd. (d)). The trial court sentenced Diaz to an aggregate term of 50 years to life in prison. In seeking reversal, Diaz argues (1) by failing to correct the prosecutor’s misstatement about the law of self-defense, the trial court allowed the jury to be presented with an erroneous theory of guilt; (2) the trial court committed instructional error by giving CALCRIM No. 522 instead of CALJIC No. 8.73 and by failing to further define the word “provocation” in CALCRIM No. 522; and (3) to the extent his claims of instructional error were forfeited, his counsel was ineffective by failing to request CALJIC No. 8.73 and a further definition of “provocation.” We affirm. We reject Diaz’s argument the trial court presented the jury with an erroneous theory of guilt. Although we conclude Diaz forfeited his claims of instructional error, we find no ineffective assistance of counsel.

FACTS

We view the evidence in the light most…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.