Aiding and abetting: Natural and probable consequences–Does Chui Doctrine apply to Lying in wait?
March 25th, 2020
People v. Gastelum (Feb. 25, 2020, D075368) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ [pp. 3] held that People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155 does not apply to first degree murder based on lying in wait. The court observed that because Chiu did not consider the first degree lying-in-wait murder at issue here, and Gastelum did not provide […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability, Aider and Abettor, CC 400, CC 401, CC 402, CC 403, CC 415, CC 416, CC 417, CC 521, CC 600, CC 601, Chiu Doctrine, First Degree Felony Murder, Lying in Wait
Felony Murder: Disagreements and Confusion
June 19th, 2015
On April 23, 2010, CC 521 was revised. As explained by the CC Committee, “the definition of deliberation and premeditation in [CC No. 521], Murder: Degrees could be misleading in cases in which an extended act, such as strangling or drowning, causes the homicide.” (Advisory Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, Report to the Judicial […]
Tags: CC 520, CC 521, CC 640, CC 641, First Degree Felony Murder, Homicide, Second Degree Felony Murder
What Is A “Major Participant” Within The Meaning Of Penal Code 190.2(d)?
March 7th, 2015
Penal Code Section 190.2 (d) was enacted to bring California law into conformity with the High Court’s decision in Tison v. Arizona (1987) 481 U.S. 137 and the statutory language of section 190.2(d) derives verbatim from the decision in Tison. (People v. Estrada (1995) 11 Cal.4th 568, 575.) Tison held that the Eighth Amendment […]
Tags: CC 703, Death Penalty, Due Process, First Degree Felony Murder, Homicide, Sample Instructions