P. v. Lewis CA4/1
A jury convicted Donald Ray Lewis of first degree murder (Pen. Code, §187, subd. (a)). It also found true that, during the commission of the offense, Lewis discharged a firearm within the meaning of section 12022.53, subdivision (d).
The court sentenced Lewis to prison for 50 years to life.
Lewis appeals, contending the court improperly instructed the jury under CALCRIM No. 625 because that instruction did not allow the jury to consider evidence of Lewis's voluntary intoxication to support his defense of imperfect self-defense. We reject this contention. Whether CALCRIM No. 625 improperly precludes a jury from considering voluntary intoxication with respect to imperfect self-defense is currently before the California Supreme Court in People v. Soto (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 884, review granted October 12, 2016, S236164 (Soto). Assuming without deciding that CALCRIM No. 625 is incorrect as Lewis asserts, on this record, any such error is harmless. Thus, we affirm Lewis's
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