Tag Archives: Accomplice Liability


Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM
March 21st, 2023

This post Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM addressed the failure of the CALCRIM instructions to include the required element when the defendant is charged with aiding and abetting a perpetrator who is alleged to have acted with implied malice.   These defects in the CALCRIM instructions […]


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Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM
February 27th, 2023

This post Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM addressed the failure of the CALCRIM instructions to include the required element when the defendant is charged with aiding and abetting a perpetrator who is alleged to have acted with implied malice.   These defects in the CALCRIM instructions […]


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Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM
January 24th, 2023

This post Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM addressed the failure of the CALCRIM instructions to include the required element when the defendant is charged with aiding and abetting a perpetrator who is alleged to have acted with implied malice. These defects in the CALCRIM instructions were […]


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Aider And Abettor Liability For Implied Malice Murder: Required Elements Not Included in CALCRIM
November 30th, 2022

Direct aiding and abetting is based on the combined actus reus of the participants and the aider and abettor’s “own mens rea.” (People v. McCoy (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1111, 1122; see also People v. Powell (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 689, 712-13.) The aider and abettor’s mens rea includes several subjective mental elements as observed by People […]


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CC 401 Erroneously Allows the Jurors to Consider the Defendant’s Presence During the Crim or Failure to Prevent the Crime to Find the Actus Reus of Aiding and Abetting Liability
March 2nd, 2022

In People v. K.M. (In re K.M.) ___ Cal App ___ (Feb. 17, 2022, A159962) [pp. 5-7] the prosecution asserted that K.M. was guilty of aiding and abetting a robbery because his very presence at the scene of the crime assisted the perpetrator of the robbery. However, the reviewing court correctly reversed the judgement because […]


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SB 1437 Update
June 12th, 2021

This post:   SB 1437, Which Amended the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine as It Relates to Murder, Bars a Conviction for Second Degree Murder Under That Theory  December 23rd, 2020   discusses People v. Gentile (2020) 10 Cal.5th 830, 842 which barred a conviction for second degree murder under the natural and probable consequences […]


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Defendants Whose Cases Are Pending on Appeal May Seek to Stay Their Appeals in Order to Pursue Relief Under SB 1437
January 4th, 2021

People v. Gentile (Dec. 17, 2020, S256698) concluded that SB 1437 bars a conviction for second degree murder under the natural and probable consequences theory. It also held that the procedure set forth in section PC 1170.95 is the exclusive mechanism for retroactive relief and thus the ameliorative provisions of SB 1437 do not apply […]


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SB 1437, Which Amended the Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine as It Relates to Murder, Bars a Conviction for Second Degree Murder Under That Theory
December 23rd, 2020

When an accomplice aids and abets a crime, the accomplice is culpable for both that crime and any other offense committed that is the natural and probable consequence of the aided and abetted crime. Natural and probable consequences liability can be imposed even if the accomplice did not intend the additional offense. (People v. McCoy […]


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SB 1437 and Attempted Murder
August 27th, 2020

A recurring issue in Court of Appeal opinions is whether SB 1437 applies to attempted murder liability under the natural and probable consequences doctrine, and there is currently a split in authority. The California Supreme will consider this issue in People v. Lopez (2019) 38 Cal.App.5th 1087, review granted 11/13/2019 (S258175/B271516). See this post: Two […]


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Prosecution’s Constitutional Challenge to SB 1437 Rejected and CSC Review Denied
April 14th, 2020

SB 1437 bars liability for felony murder where the defendant wasn’t the actual killer, didn’t intend to kill, and wasn’t a major participant in the underlying felony. In Gooden, the C/A People v. Superior Court (Gooden); 42 CA5th 270 rejected the DA’s argument that SB 1437 unconstitutionally amended Proposition 7 or Proposition 115. Furthermore, People […]


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