In what circumstances will a jury be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a sexual assault case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Heard, 31 Cal.4th 946, 4 Cal.Rptr.3d 131, 75 P.3d 53 (Cal. 2003):

Moreover, the jury was instructed that in order to find defendant guilty of specified sexual offenses, it had to determine

[4 Cal.Rptr.3d 160]

that he acted with specific intent, and that it should consider the effect of his intoxication in deciding whether he acted with the requisite mental state. In convicting defendant of these sexual offenses, the jury necessarily determined that defendant formed the requisite specific intent despite his consumption of drugs and alcohol. In view of this finding, the jury could not have concluded he was unconscious and therefore guilty only of involuntary manslaughter. Thus, even if the court had erred in its instructions, we would find that such error was clearly harmless. (See People v. Earp (1999) 20 Cal.4th 826, 884-886, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 857, 978 P.2d 15.)

[4 Cal.Rptr.3d 160]

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