Section 511 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

and knowing the same facts, would have reacted from passion rather
than judgment.
[A dangerous weapon is any object, instrument, or weapon [that is
inherently deadly or dangerous or one] that is used in such a way that it
is capable of causing and likely to cause death or great bodily injury.]
[An object is inherently deadly if it is deadly or dangerous in the
ordinary use for which it was designed.]
[Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is
an injury that is greater than minor or moderate harm.]
Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness,
inattention, or mistake in judgment. A person acts with criminal
negligence when:
1. He or she acts in a way that creates a high risk of death or great
bodily injury;
AND
2. A reasonable person would have known that acting in that way
would create such a risk.
In other words, a person acts with criminal negligence when the way he
or she acts is so different from how an ordinarily careful person would
act in the same situation that his or her act amounts to disregard for
human life or indifference to the consequences of that act.
The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that
the killing was not excused. If the People have not met this burden, you
must find the defendant not guilty of (murder/ [or] manslaughter).
New January 2006; Revised April 2011, September 2019, September 2020, March
2022
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The trial court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on accident and heat of passion that
excuses homicide when there is evidence supporting the defense. (People v.
Hampton (1929) 96 Cal.App. 157, 159–160 [273 P. 854] [court erred in refusing
defendant’s requested instruction].)
Give the bracketed phrase “that is inherently deadly or one” and give the bracketed
definition of inherently deadly only if the object is a deadly weapon as a matter of
law. (People v. Stutelberg (2018) 29 Cal.App.5th 314, 317–318 [240 Cal.Rptr.3d
156].)
The second sentence of the great bodily injury definition could result in error if the
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Charged; Pen. Code, § 26, subd. 5 [accident requires no “culpable negligence”].)
SECONDARY SOURCES
1 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Defenses, § 274.
1 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against the
Person, § 230.
3 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 73,
Defenses and Justifications, § 73.16 (Matthew Bender).
4 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 85,
Submission to Jury and Verdict, § 85.04[1][c] (Matthew Bender).
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 142, Crimes
Against the Person, §§ 142.01[1][b], [g], 142.02[2][a] (Matthew Bender).
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The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendant did not kill as the result of a sudden quarrel or in the heat
of passion. If the People have no