People v. Coch
This text of 53 Cal. 627 (People v. Coch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
The defendant was indicted for the crime of arson. The Court instructed the jury that if they found the defendant guilty the form of their verdict should be: “ We, the jury in the above cause, find the defendant guilty as charged in the indictment.”
Arson is divided into two degrees. (Penal Code, secs. 453, 454.) It is provided by the Penal Code, sec. 1157, that “ whenever a crime is distinguished into degrees, the jury, if they convict the defendant, must find the degree of the crime of which he is guilty.” The instruction was erroneous.
Judgment and order reversed, and cause remanded for a new trial.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
53 Cal. 627, 1879 Cal. LEXIS 67, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-coch-cal-1879.