People v. Lara

Opinion by

Judge RUSSELL.

Appellate courts often say that jury instructions should "track the language" of the governing statute. See, e.g., People v. Weinreich, 119 P.3d 1073, 1076 (Colo.2005). But this statement, like many legal maxims, is true only up to a point. Sometimes, it is wrong to use statutory language in jury instructions. See, e.g., Leonard v. People, 149 Colo. 360, 374, 369 P.2d 54, 62 (1962).

Here, the court gave a jury instruction that tracked the language of section 18-1-7O4(4), C.R.S.2008. Because this language violated the defendant's right to due process, we reverse his…