CA · jury_instructions
CALCRIM No. 359
Corpus Delicti: Independent Evidence of a Charged Crime
The defendant may not be convicted of any crime based on (his/her) out -
of-court statement[s] alone. Y ou may rely on the defendant’s out-of-court
statements to convict (him/her) only if you first conclude that other
evidence shows that the charged crime [or a lesser included offense] was
committed.
That other evidence may be slight and need only be enough to support a
reasonable inference that a crime was committed.
This requirement of other evidence does not apply to proving the
identity of the person who committed the crime [and the degree of the
crime]. If other evidence shows that the charged crime [or a lesser
included offense] was committed, the identity of the person who
committed it [and the degree of the crime] may be proved by the
defendant’s statement[s] alone.
Y ou may not convict the defendant unless the People have proved (his/
her) guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
New January 2006; Revised August 2006, February 2014, February 2015,
September 2017, March 2018
Provenance
- Source
- courts.ca.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- calcrim-2020
- Content hash
7131717e5cbb28185a4e3d0a3c6facb6d5e297373af76cdf5f879f99cea31bdb
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