Does a defendant need to view his intended victim during his "watchful waiting" period?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Casares, 198 Cal.Rptr.3d 167, 364 P.3d 1093, 62 Cal.4th 808 (Cal. 2016):

of the lying-in-wait special circumstance. We disagree. "A killer need not view his intended victim during the entire period of watching and waiting." (People v. Edwards (1991) 54 Cal.3d 787, 825, 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 696, 819 P.2d 436 (Edwards ).) The purpose of the "watchful waiting" requirement" to distinguish those cases in which a defendant acts insidiously from those in which he acts out of rash impulse " (Mendoza, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 1073, 132 Cal.Rptr.3d 808, 263 P.3d 1 )is satisfied here despite the circumstance that the victims were out of defendant's sight for a few moments. If the jury accepted the prosecutor's "ruse" theory, it could reasonably have concluded that nothing occurred during that interval to indicate either an abandonment of the plan, an alteration in defendant's purpose, or a dawning awareness of that purpose on the victims' part.

Other Questions


Does a defendant need to view his intended victim during his "watchful waiting" period? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be found guilty of a lying-in-wait murder based on the fact that he was standing in front of his victim while waiting for his victim? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be found guilty of a lying-in-wait murder based on the fact that he was standing in front of his victim while waiting in the car? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant plead imperfect self-defense even if he intended to provoke his victim into attacking him so that he might have an excuse to shoot the victim? (California, United States of America)
Does Defendant have a claim that the trial court abused its discretion to treat Defendant as a "defendant" in a medical malpractice case? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant who shot and killed an unarmed, unsuspecting, unsuspecting victim argue that the victim was not particularly vulnerable because he was a healthy police officer with access to a gun? (California, United States of America)
What is the Defendant's contention that he committed acts of mayhem against a victim by attacking the victim with a box cutter? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for a jury to find that a defendant intended to kill while lying in wait? (California, United States of America)
Does Defendant have a valid claim to be able to claim damages from a defendant who has been found guilty of a similar claim against the Defendant? (California, United States of America)
What are the consequences of a court finding that a motion brought by Attorney Defendants against Defendant Kendall was "frivolous and/or intended to harass"? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.