CALCRIM No. 3117. Armed With Firearm: Knowledge That Coparticipant Armed (Pen. Code, § 12022(d))
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2023 edition)
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3117.Armed With Firearm: Knowledge That Coparticipant Armed
(Pen. Code, § 12022(d))
If you find the defendant guilty of the crime[s] charged in Count[s]
[,] [or of attempting to commit (that/those) crime[s]][ or the
lesser crime[s] of <insert name[s] of alleged lesser
offense[s]>], you must then decide whether[, for each crime,] the People
have proved the additional allegation that the defendant knew that
someone who was a principal was armed with a firearm in the
commission [or attempted commission] of that crime. [You must decide
whether the People have proved this allegation for each crime and
return a separate finding for each crime.]
To prove this allegation, the People must prove that:
1. Someone who was a principal in the crime was armed with a
firearm during the commission [or attempted commission] of that
crime;
AND
2. The defendant was also a principal in the crime and knew that
the other person was armed with a firearm.
A person is a principal in a crime if he or she directly commits [or
attempts to commit] the crime or if he or she aids and abets someone
else who commits [or attempts to commit] the crime.
[A firearm is any device designed to be used as a weapon, from which a
projectile is discharged or expelled through a barrel by the force of an
explosion or other form of combustion.]
[The term firearm is defined in another instruction.]
[A firearm does not need to be in working order if it was designed to
shoot and appears capable of shooting.] [A firearm does not need to be
loaded.]
A principal is armed with a firearm when that person:
1. Carries a firearm [or has a firearm available] for use in either
offense or defense in connection with the crime[s] charged in
Count[s] [or the lesser crime[s] of <insert
name[s] of alleged lesser offense[s]>];
1. AND
2. Knows that he or she is carrying the firearm [or has it available].
<If there is an issue in the case over whether the principal was armed with
the firearm “in the commission of” the offense, see Bench Notes.>
The People have the burden of proving each allegation beyond a
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reasonable doubt. If the People have not met this burden, you must find
that the allegation has not been proved.
New January 2006; Revised August 2006, February 2012
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction defining the elements of the
enhancement. (Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 530 U.S. 466, 490 [120 S.Ct. 2348,
147 L.Ed.2d 435].)
The court should give the bracketed definition of “firearm” unless the court has
already given the definition in other instructions. In such cases, the court may give
the bracketed sentence stating that the term is defined elsewhere.
When two or more defendants are charged with an arming enhancement for the
same offense, the preferred approach is for the court to provide the jury with a
separate verdict form for the enhancement for each defendant. (People v. Paul
(1998) 18 Cal.4th 698, 708 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 660, 958 P.2d 412].) However, this
procedure is not required. (Id. at p. 705.)
In the definition of “armed,” the court may give the bracketed phrase “or has a
firearm available” on request if the evidence shows that the firearm was at the scene
of the alleged crime and “available to the defendant to use in furtherance of the
underlying felony.” (People v. Bland (1995) 10 Cal.4th 991, 997-998 [43
Cal.Rptr.2d 77, 898 P.2d 391]; see also People v. Wandick (1991) 227 Cal.App.3d
918, 927-928 [278 Cal.Rptr. 274] [language of instruction approved; sufficient
evidence defendant had firearm available for use]; People v. Jackson (1995) 32
Cal.App.4th 411, 419-422 [38 Cal.Rptr.2d 214] [evidence that firearm was two
blocks away from scene of rape insufficient to show available to defendant].)
If the case involves an issue of whether the principal was armed “in the
commission” of the offense, the court may give CALCRIM No. 3261, While
Committing a Felony: Defined - Escape Rule. (See People v. Jones (2001) 25
Cal.4th 98, 109 [104 Cal.Rptr.2d 753, 18 P.3d 674]; People v. Masbruch (1996) 13
Cal.4th 1001, 1014 [55 Cal.Rptr.2d 760, 920 P.2d 705]; People v. Taylor (1995) 32
Cal.App.4th 578, 582 [38 Cal.Rptr.2d 127].)
If there is evidence that the defendant was an aider and abettor, give the appropriate
instructions on aider and abettor liability, CALCRIM Nos. 400-410.
AUTHORITY
• Enhancement. Pen. Code, § 12022(d).
• Principal Defined. Pen. Code, § 31.
• Firearm Defined. Pen. Code, § 16520.
• Armed. People v. Bland (1995) 10 Cal.4th 991, 997-998 [43 Cal.Rptr.2d 77, 898
P.2d 391]; People v. Jackson (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 411, 419-422 [38
ENHANCEMENTS AND SENTENCING FACTORS CALCRIM No. 3117
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Cal.Rptr.2d 214]; People v. Wandick (1991) 227 Cal.App.3d 918, 927-928 [278
Cal.Rptr. 274].
• Firearm Need Not Be Operable. People v. Nelums (1982) 31 Cal.3d 355, 360
[182 Cal.Rptr. 515, 644 P.2d 201].
• Firearm Need Not Be Loaded. See People v. Steele (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 788,
791-795 [286 Cal.Rptr. 887].
• “In Commission of” Felony/Facilitative Nexus. People v. Bland (1995) 10
Cal.4th 991, 1002 [43 Cal.Rptr.2d 77, 898 P.2d 391]; People v. Jones (2001) 25
Cal.4th 98, 109-110 [104 Cal.Rptr.2d 753, 18 P.3d 674]; People v. Masbruch
(1996) 13 Cal.4th 1001, 1011-1013 [55 Cal.Rptr.2d 760, 920 P.2d 705]; People
v. Taylor (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 578, 582 [38 Cal.Rptr.2d 127].
• Presence of Gun Cannot Be Accident or Coincidence. (Smith v. United States
(1993) 508 U.S. 223, 238 [113 S.Ct. 2050, 124 L.Ed.2d 138]).
RELATED ISSUES
Conspiracy
A defendant convicted of conspiracy may also receive an enhancement for being
armed during the conspiracy, regardless of whether the defendant is convicted of the
offense alleged to be the target of the conspiracy. (People v. Becker (2000) 83
Cal.App.4th 294, 298 [99 Cal.Rptr.2d 354].)
SECONDARY SOURCES
3 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Punishment, §§ 357,
364.
5 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Criminal Trial, § 727.
5 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 91,
Sentencing, § 91.31 (Matthew Bender).
3118-3129. Reserved for Future Use
CALCRIM No. 3117 ENHANCEMENTS AND SENTENCING FACTORS
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© Judicial Council of California.
