In what circumstances will a jury be able to convict a defendant of conspiracy to commit murder based on a theory of implied malice?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Westlund, 104 Cal.Rptr.2d 712, 87 Cal.App.4th 652 (Cal. App. 2001):

And in People v. Swain (1996) 12 Cal.4th 593, the high court found that the trial court had improperly instructed the jury that conspiracy to commit murder could be based on a theory of implied malice, which it concluded was a legally inadequate theory. It then assessed the effect of this error "under the harmless error test traditionally applied to misinstruction on the elements of an offense, namely, whether it appears 'beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained.'" (Id. at p. 607.)

Other Questions


Is implied malice permitted a jury to convict a defendant of first degree murder based upon implied malice? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be convicted of second degree implied malice murder based on indirect aider and abettor theory? (California, United States of America)
Is implied malice permitted a jury to convict a defendant of conspiracy to commit murder? (California, United States of America)
Under what circumstances will a jury overturn a conviction for first degree murder based solely on a felony-murder theory? (California, United States of America)
What is implied malice for the implied malice of a defendant in the second degree felony-murder doctrine? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant be convicted of conspiracy to commit murder as a natural and probable consequence of a conspiracy to assault? (California, United States of America)
In what federal conspiracy cases have the jury been instructed to convict a defendant of conspiracy to commit a crime based only on "slight evidence"? (California, United States of America)
What is the prosecution's argument that defendant was not guilty of express-malice murder but at most of murder with implied malice? (California, United States of America)
Is sufficient evidence supporting defendant's conviction of murder based on the provocative act murder theory? (California, United States of America)
In what circumstances will the Court reverse the conviction of defendant in the second-degree murder trial of a man convicted of the crime of murder for making false statements about the crime scene? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.