California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. George, C082626 (Cal. App. 2018):
During instruction setting, the trial court noted that with respect to accomplice liability for a principal's commission of a felony murder, the present version of the instruction omitted language from a former version that had provided, "There must be a logical connection between the cause of death and the burglary. . . . The connection between the cause of death and the burglary . . . must involve more than just their occurrence at the same time and place." (This language simply reflects the concept that the principal must be engaged in furthering the commission of the contemplated felony at the time of the killing, as opposed to committing a killing that that does not have any relation to the contemplated felony. (People v. Cavitt (2004) 33 Cal.4th 187, 203-204 [finding that as this concept is simply a clarification of the elements of liability for a felony murder, it need be given only on request and is not required sua sponte] (Cavitt).))
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