The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Norma Lilian Cortez, Defendants and Appellants — Werdegar, J…

Summary

Justice Werdegar concurred in the judgment and most of the majority's reasoning but concluded that the prosecutor's explanation of proof beyond a reasonable doubt was an unambiguous misstatement of law, not merely an incomplete explanation. She nevertheless agreed that the error was not prejudicial because the correct jury instructions and other contextual safeguards made it unlikely the remarks affected the verdict. She also agreed that the trial court properly admitted the codefendant's statement under Evidence Code section 1230, although on a narrower rationale.