What constitutes malice in a prosecution for second degree murder?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Moreno, F074533 (Cal. App. 2019):
In a prosecution for second degree murder, malice may be express or implied. (People v. Swain (1996) 12 Cal.4th 593, 601.) Express malice exists "when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature." ( 188.)
"Malice is implied ... when a killing results from an intentional act, the natural consequences of which are dangerous to human life, and the act is deliberately performed with knowledge of the danger to, and with conscious disregard for, human life. [Citation.]" (People v. Cook (2006) 39 Cal.4th 566, 596.)
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