Justia Criminal Law Center California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) (2025) Enhancements and Sentencing Factors CALCRIM No. 3160. Great Bodily Injury (Pen. Code, §§ 667.5(c)(8), 667.61(d)(6), 1192.7(c)(8), 12022.7, 12022.8)

CALCRIM No. 3160. Great Bodily Injury (Pen. Code, §§ 667.5(c)(8), 667.61(d)(6), 1192.7(c)(8), 12022.7, 12022.8)

Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2025 edition)

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E. GREAT BODILY INJURY

3160.Great Bodily Injury (Pen. Code, §§ 667.5(c)(8), 667.61(d)(6),

1192.7(c)(8), 12022.7, 12022.8)

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 personally

inflicted great bodily injury on <insert name of injured

person> during 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.]

[The People must also prove that <insert name of injured

person> was not an accomplice to the crime.]

Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is

an injury that is greater than minor or moderate harm.

[Committing the crime of <insert sexual offense charged> is

not by itself the infliction of great bodily injury.]

[If you conclude that more than one person assaulted

<insert name of injured person> and you cannot decide which person

caused which injury, you may conclude that the defendant personally

inflicted great bodily injury on <insert name of injured

person> if the People have proved that:

1. Two or more people, acting at the same time, assaulted

<insert name of injured person> and inflicted great

bodily injury on (him/her);

2. The defendant personally used physical force on

<insert name of injured person> during the group assault;

AND

[3A. The amount or type of physical force the defendant used on

<insert name of injured person> was enough that it

alone could have caused <insert name of injured

person> to suffer great bodily injury(;/.)]

[OR]

[3B. The physical force that the defendant used on

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<insert name of injured person> was sufficient in combination with

the force used by the others to cause <insert name of

injured person> to suffer great bodily injury.]

The defendant must have applied substantial force to

<insert name of injured person>. If that force could not have caused or

contributed to the great bodily injury, then it was not substantial.]

[A person is an accomplice if he or she is subject to prosecution for the

identical crime charged against the defendant. Someone is subject to

prosecution if he or she personally committed the crime or if:

1. He or she knew of the criminal purpose of the person who

committed the crime;

AND

2. He or she intended to, and did in fact, (aid, facilitate, promote,

encourage, or instigate the commission of the crime/ [or]

participate in a criminal conspiracy to commit the crime).]

<If there is an issue in the case over whether the defendant inflicted the

injury “during the commission of” the offense, see Bench Notes.>

The People have the burden of proving each allegation beyond a

reasonable doubt. If the People have not met this burden, you must find

that the allegation has not been proved.

New January 2006; Revised June 2007, February 2015, September 2020, March

2022, March 2024*

* Denotes changes only to bench notes and other commentaries.

BENCH NOTES

Instructional Duty

The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction on the enhancement when

charged. (Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 530 U.S. 466, 490 [120 S.Ct. 2348, 147

L.Ed.2d 435].)

Give the bracketed sentence that begins with “Committing the crime of” if the

defendant is charged with a sexual offense. (People v. Escobar (1992) 3 Cal.4th 740,

746 [12 Cal.Rptr.2d 586, 837 P.2d 1100] [injury must be more than that which is

present in every offense of rape].)

The bracketed section beneath the heading “Group Assault” is designed to be used

in cases where the evidence shows a group assault.

If the court gives the bracketed sentence instructing that the People must prove that

the person assaulted “was not an accomplice to the crime,” the court should also

give the bracketed definition of “accomplice.” (People v. Verlinde (2002) 100

Cal.App.4th 1146, 1167-1168 [123 Cal.Rptr.2d 322].) Additional paragraphs

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providing further explanation of the definition of “accomplice” are contained in

CALCRIM No. 334, Accomplice Testimony Must Be Corroborated: Dispute Whether

Witness Is Accomplice. The court should review that instruction and determine

whether any of these additional paragraphs should be given.

The jury must determine whether an injury constitutes “great bodily injury.” (People

v. Escobar, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 750; People v. Nava (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 1490,

1498 [255 Cal.Rptr. 903] [reversible error to instruct that a bone fracture is a

significant or substantial injury].) A jury’s finding of serious bodily injury is not

equivalent to a finding of great bodily injury. (In re Cabrera (2023) 14 Cal.5th 476,

491 [304 Cal.Rptr.3d 798, 524 P.3d 784].)

If there is an issue in the case over whether the defendant inflicted the injury

“during 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].)

The second sentence of the great bodily injury definition could result in error if the

prosecution improperly argues great bodily injury may be shown by greater than

minor injury alone. (Compare People v. Medellin (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 519,

533-535 [258 Cal.Rptr.3d 867] [the definition was reasonably susceptible to

prosecutor’s erroneous argument that the injury need only be greater than minor]

with People v. Quinonez (2020) 46 Cal.App.5th 457, 466 [260 Cal.Rptr.3d 86]

[upholding instructions containing great bodily injury definition as written].)

AUTHORITY

• Enhancements. Pen. Code, §§ 667.5(c)(8), 667.61(d)(6), 12022.7, 12022.8.

• Great Bodily Injury Enhancements Do Not Apply to Conviction for Murder or

Manslaughter. People v. Cook (2015) 60 Cal. 4th 922, 924 [183 Cal.Rptr.3d

502].

• “Great Bodily Injury” Defined. Pen. Code, § 12022.7(f); In re Cabrera, supra,

14 Cal.5th at p. 484 [not equivalent to serious bodily injury]; People v. Escobar,

supra, 3 Cal.4th at pp. 749-750 [greater than minor or moderate harm].

• Great Bodily Injury May Be Established by Pregnancy or Abortion. People v.

Cross (2008) 45 Cal.4th 58, 68 [82 Cal.Rptr.3d 373, 190 P.3d 706].

• Must Personally Inflict Injury. People v. Lee (2003) 31 Cal.4th 613, 631 [3

Cal.Rptr.3d 402, 74 P.3d 176]; People v. Cole (1982) 31 Cal.3d 568, 571 [183

Cal.Rptr. 350, 645 P.2d 1182]; People v. Ramirez (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 603,

627 [236 Cal.Rptr. 404] [Pen. Code, § 12022.8].

• Sex Offenses - Injury Must Be More Than Incidental to Offense. People v.

Escobar, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 746.

• Group Beating Instruction. People v. Modiri (2006) 39 Cal.4th 481, 500-501 [46

Cal.Rptr.3d 762, 139 P.3d 136].

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• This Instruction Is Correct In Defining Group Beating. People v. Dunkerson

(2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1418 [66 Cal.Rptr.3d 795].

• “Accomplice” Defined. See Pen. Code, § 1111; People v. Verlinde, supra, 100

Cal.App.4th at pp. 1167-1168; People v. Stankewitz (1990) 51 Cal.3d 72, 90-91

[270 Cal.Rptr. 817, 793 P.2d 23].

• “During Commission of” Felony. People v. Jones, supra, 25 Cal.4th at pp.

109-110; People v. Masbruch, supra, 13 Cal.4th at p. 1014; People v. Taylor,

supra, 32 Cal.App.4th at p. 582.

• This Instruction Correctly Omits Requirement of Intent to Inflict GBI. People v.

Poroj (2010) 190 Cal.App.4th 165, 176 [117 Cal.Rptr.3d 884].

RELATED ISSUES

Specific Intent Not Required

Penal Code section 12022.7 was amended in 1995, deleting the requirement that the

defendant act with “the intent to inflict such injury.” (Stats. 1995, ch. 341, § 1; see

also People v. Carter (1998) 60 Cal.App.4th 752, 756 [70 Cal.Rptr.2d 569] [noting

amendment].)

Instructions on Aiding and Abetting

In People v. Magana (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 1371, 1378-1379 [22 Cal.Rptr.2d 59],

the evidence indicated that the defendant and another person both shot at the

victims. The jury asked for clarification of whether the evidence must establish that

the bullet from the defendant’s gun struck the victim in order to find the

enhancement for personally inflicting great bodily injury true. (Id. at p. 1379.) The

trial court responded by giving the instructions on aiding and abetting. (Ibid.) The

Court of Appeal reversed, finding the instructions erroneous in light of the

requirement that the defendant must personally inflict the injury for the enhancement

to be found true. (Id. at p. 1381.)

Sex Offenses - Examples of Great Bodily Injury

The following have been held to be sufficient to support a finding of great bodily

injury: transmission of a venereal disease (People v. Johnson (1986) 181 Cal.App.3d

1137, 1140 [225 Cal.Rptr. 251]); pregnancy (People v. Sargent (1978) 86

Cal.App.3d 148, 151 [150 Cal.Rptr. 113]); and a torn hymen (People v. Williams

(1981) 115 Cal.App.3d 446, 454 [171 Cal.Rptr. 401]).

Enhancement May Be Applied Once Per Victim

The court may impose one enhancement under Penal Code section 12022.7 for each

injured victim. (Pen. Code, § 12022.7(h); People v. Ausbie (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th

855, 864 [20 Cal.Rptr.3d 371].)

Furnishing Drugs

In People v. Ollo (2021) 11 Cal.5th 682 [279 Cal.Rptr.3d 668, 487 P.3d 981], the

defendant was charged with personally inflicting great bodily injury on a victim who

had voluntarily ingested the drugs furnished by the defendant. The court held:

“[T]he act of furnishing is not by itself sufficient to establish personal infliction.

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Whether a defendant who furnishes drugs personally inflicts such injury depends on

the facts of the particular case. To determine whether a defendant personally inflicts

such injury, fact finders and courts must examine the circumstances of the

underlying offense and the defendant’s role in causing the injury that followed.” (11

Cal.5th at p. 685.)

SECONDARY SOURCES

3 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Punishment,

§§ 350-351.

4 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 85,

Submission to Jury and Verdict, § 85.02[2][a][i] (Matthew Bender).

5 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 91,

Sentencing, § 91.35 (Matthew Bender).

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Page last reviewed April 2025