Is the partial defense of voluntary intoxication or mental disorder surviving?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Christian S., In re, 30 Cal.Rptr.2d 33, 7 Cal.4th 768, 872 P.2d 574 (Cal. 1994):

3. People v. Saille--Having set forth the pertinent provisions of the 1981 statutory amendments, I next review our analysis of those provisions in Saille, where a similar issue was raised regarding the survival of the partial defense of voluntary intoxication or mental disorder. There, we held that the foregoing statutory provisions combined to bar the "reduction of what would otherwise be murder to nonstatutory voluntary manslaughter due to voluntary intoxication and/or mental disorder." (54 Cal.3d at p. 1107, fn. omitted, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 364, 820 P.2d 588.) We found it unnecessary in Saille, however, to address the effect of these amendments upon the "so-called 'imperfect self-defense' doctrine [which reduces] an intentional killing from murder to manslaughter when a person kills under an honest but unreasonable belief in the necessity to defend against imminent peril to life or great bodily injury." (Id. at p. 1107, fn. 1, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 364, 820 P.2d 588.)

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