P. v. Davis CA2/7
Defendant Steven Eric Davis was charged with a single count of pandering by procurement. (Pen. Code, § 266i, subd. (a)(1)). The case was tried, however, on the theory that Davis committed pandering by encouragement (id., subd. (a)(2)), and the trial court instructed the jury on that theory. The verdict form, which was tied to the charge and never was conformed to the proof and instructions, states that the jury found Davis guilty of pandering by procurement. Davis did not object to the variance or the verdict form.
On appeal, Davis contends the evidence was insufficient to support his pandering conviction and the trial court committed prejudicial error in declining to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of attempted pandering. Evaluating these claims under the rubric of pandering by encouragement, we conclude that substantial evidence supports Davis’s pandering conviction and that any error in the court’s failure to instruct on attempted pandering was harmless
Comments on P. v. Davis CA2/7