Alvarez v. People

LOHR, Justice.

The defendant, Pedro Patlan Alvarez, was convicted of second-degree assault1 after trial to a jury. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed in People v. Alvarez, 624 P.2d 358 (Colo.App.1980), and we granted certiorari. The defendant challenges his conviction on three grounds. First, Alvarez argues that he was prejudiced by a juror’s use of a dictionary to aid her in understanding terms contained in the jury instructions. Second, the defendant claims his due process rights were violated when the trial court received evidence that he had been identified by a witness as one of the…