Judge Has Sua Sponte Duty to Instruct on Lesser Offense of Involuntary Manslaughter Based on Commission of Inherently Dangerous Assaultive Felony
August 25th, 2022
The court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on involuntary manslaughter based on the commission of an inherently dangerous assaultive felony and to instruct on the elements of the predicate offense(s). (People v. Brothers (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 24, 33–34; see also People v. Bryant (2013) 56 Cal.4th 959, 964.)
Tags: CC 580, CC 581, Involuntary, Judge Duty to Instruct, Lesser Included Offense
The Huge Impact of A Tiny Two-Letter Word
October 15th, 2020
In this March 10, 2020 post FORECITE discussed the CALCRIM instructions which define great bodily injury as a “significant or substantial physical injury … that is greater than minor or moderate harm.” The post suggested, in reliance on People v. Medellin (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 519, 533- 535 that — as argued by the prosecutor in […]
Tags: CC 1300, CC 1402, CC 1501, CC 1530, CC 1551, CC 2501, CC 2503, CC 2514, CC 2578, CC 2720, CC 2721, CC 2745, CC 2746, CC 2747, CC 3130, CC 3145, CC 3149, CC 3150, CC 3160, CC 3161, CC 3162, CC 3163, CC 3177, CC 3477, CC 505, CC 508, CC 511, CC 524, CC 525, CC 571, CC 580, CC 581, CC 582, CC 590, CC 592, CC 604, CC 810, CC 820, CC 860, CC 862, CC 863, CC 875, CC 970, CC 982, CC 983, GBI, Sample Instructions
Implied Malice Murder: Defendant Must Be Subjectively Aware That The Committed Act Was “Inherently Dangerous To Human Life”
August 12th, 2019
Implied malice has both objective and subjective components. The objective test requires “‘“an act, the natural consequences of which are dangerous to life … .”’” (People v. Knoller (2007) 41 Cal.4th 139, 143.) This means the act must carry “‘a high degree of probability that it will result in death.’” (Id. at p. 152.) The […]
Tags: CC 2720, CC 3426, CC 520, CC 580, CC 581, Involuntary Manslaughter
Error to Instruct on Felony Murder, but Not Malice Murder, its Lesser Included Offenses, or the Defenses of Accident and Self-defense
August 8th, 2016
In People v. Gonzalez , District: 2 DCA , Division: 4 , Case #: B255375 the prosecutor charged appellants with malice murder but tried the case solely on a felony murder theory. The trial court did not instruct the jury on malice murder, its LIOs, or the defenses of accident and self-defense. “[U]nder the accusatory […]
Tags: CC 520, CC 540, CC 570, CC 571, CC 580, Lesser Included Offenses, Murder
Is the Erroneous Failure to Instruct on Malice Murder Always Harmless Error When the Jury Finds the Defendant Guilty of First Degree Murder?
August 5th, 2016
People v. Campbell (2015) 233 CA4th 148, suggested that a jury’s guilty verdict on felony murder and its true finding on a robbery special circumstance allegation do not render the failure to instruct on LIOs of malice murder harmless under Watson: While in the present case we are not dealing with the failure to give […]
Tags: CC 520, CC 540, CC 570, CC 571, CC 580, Lesser Included Offenses, Murder
Involuntary Manslaughter and Criminal Negligence
August 7th, 2015
People v. Butler (2010) 187 Cal. App. 4th 998, 1014, upheld CC 580 as follows: The trial court’s adherence to the formulation of the instruction in [CC 580] adequately informed the jury of the criminal negligence standard applicable to all three forms of involuntary manslaughter. As [previously stated by the Court of Appeal] […]
Tags: CC 580, Criminal Negligence, Homicide, Involuntary Manslaughter
