P. v. Wyatt 1/31/08 CA1/2

State: California

Court: 1st District Court of Appeal 1st District Court of Appeal

Docket No: A114612

Case Date: 05/14/2008

Preview:Filed 1/31/08 P. v. Wyatt CA1/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. REGINALD WYATT, Defendant and Appellant. (Alameda County Super. Ct. No. 147107) A114612

I. INTRODUCTION Reginald Wyatt (appellant) was convicted, following a jury trial, of involuntary manslaughter and assault on a child causing death. On appeal, he contends (1) the trial court improperly limited his cross-examination of a police officer during a hearing on the voluntariness of appellant's statements to officers; (2) the trial court failed to instruct sua sponte on the requirement of jury unanimity as to both counts; (3) the trial court omitted an essential element of the offense in its instruction on assault on a child causing death; (4) the trial court failed to instruct sua sponte on assault as a necessarily included offense of assault on a child causing death; (5) the trial court failed to instruct sua sponte on involuntary manslaughter as a necessarily included offense of assault on a child causing death; (6) the trial court failed to instruct the jury that criminal negligence could never support an assault conviction and that injury alone is not sufficient to establish an assault; (7) the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction for assault on a child causing death; (8) the evidence was insufficient to establish the corpus delicti for either offense; (9) California's corpus delicti rule violates due process; (10) the jury instructions directed 1

guilty verdicts; (11) appellant was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel; and (12) the sentence of 25 years to life constitutes cruel and/or unusual punishment. Because we find that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction for assault on a child causing death, we shall reverse that conviction. We shall otherwise affirm the judgment. II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Appellant was charged by information with murder (Pen. Code,

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