California Doctrine of Invited Error

In People v. Marshall (1990) 50 Cal.3d 907, 931, 269 Cal. Rptr. 269, 790 P.2d 676, the trial court gave an instruction on penalty factors requested and drafted by the defendant's counsel. (50 Cal.3d at pp. 929-931.) the court in Marshall held that the doctrine of invited error barred the defendant's contentions on appeal regarding the instruction, reasoning that although the defendant's counsel had not expressly articulated the tactical basis for the instruction, the record disclosed that the defendant's counsel had intentionally requested the instruction to structure the issues in a manner favorable to the defendant. ( Id. at p. 931.) The Marshall court further stated that, under the circumstances, an express articulation of the tactical basis was unnecessary for the application of the invited error doctrine because the trial court had not been "under an obligation to instruct sua sponte in a manner other than it did." ( Id. at pp. 931-932.) As the Supreme Court explained: "'The doctrine of invited error is designed to prevent an accused from gaining a reversal on appeal because of an error made by the trial court at his behest. If defense counsel intentionally caused the trial court to err, the appellant cannot be heard to complain on appeal.'"