Can a defendant who was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter but found guilty of negligent homicide complain that the verdicts are inconsistent?

Similarly in People v. Amick (1942) 20 Cal.2d 247, 252, 125 P.2d 25, the defendant, acquitted of vehicular manslaughter but found guilty of negligent homicide, complained that the verdicts were inconsistent. The court likewise rejected this argument, finding "more persuasive cases recognizing that such inconsistent verdicts may be caused not by the confusion but the mercy of the jury, of which the appellant can neither complain nor gain further advantage." (Id. See also People v. Brown (1973) 35 Cal.App.3d 317, 326-328, 110 Cal.Rptr. 854.)

Since defendant's culpability as a perpetrator of a felony murder was established as a matter of law, jury instructions on aiding and abetting were therefore also inapplicable and unnecessary on the murder charge. (People v. Hayes, supra, 169 Cal.App.3d 898, 910-911, 215 Cal.Rptr. 595.) ²