Section 360.50. Court's submission of information to jury; counts and offenses to be submitted  


Latest version.
  • 1.  The term definitions contained in section 300.30 are applicable to
      this  section,  except  that the word "information" is to be substituted
      for the word "indictment" wherever the latter appears  in  said  section
      300.30.
        2.    The  court  may  submit  to  the  jury  only  those counts of an
      information remaining therein at  the  time  of  its  charge  which  are
      supported  by  legally sufficient trial evidence, and every count not so
      supported should be dismissed by a trial order of  dismissal.    If  the
      trial  evidence  is  not  legally  sufficient to establish a misdemeanor
      charged in a  particular  count  which  the  court  would  otherwise  be
      required  to  submit pursuant to this section, but is legally sufficient
      to establish a lesser included offense, the court may submit such lesser
      included offense and, upon  the  people's  request,  must  do  so.    In
      submitting  a  count  charging  a  misdemeanor  established  by  legally
      sufficient trial evidence, the court in its discretion may, in  addition
      to  submitting  such  misdemeanor,  submit in the alternative any lesser
      included offense if there is a reasonable view  of  the  evidence  which
      would support a finding that the defendant committed such lesser offense
      but did not commit the misdemeanor charged.
        3.    If the information contains but one count, the court must submit
      such count.
        4.  If a multiple count information contains consecutive counts  only,
      the court must submit every count thereof.
        5.  In any case where the information may be more complex by reason of
      concurrent  counts  or inconsistent counts or other factors indicated in
      subdivisions three,  four  and  five  of  section  300.40,  relating  to
      multiple  count  indictments,  the  court,  in  its  submission  of such
      information to the jury, should, so far as practicable, be guided by the
      provisions of the said subdivisions of said section 300.40.
        6.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the court  is
      not  required  to  submit to the jury any particular count of a multiple
      count information if the people consent that it not be submitted.
        7.  Every count not submitted to the  jury  is  deemed  to  have  been
      dismissed  by the court.  Where the court, over objection of the people,
      refuses to submit a  count  which  is  consecutive  as  to  every  count
      actually  submitted,  such  count  is deemed to have been dismissed by a
      trial order of dismissal even though no such order was expressly made by
      the court.