What is the legal test for a defendant to be found guilty of murder by lying in wait?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Cage, 15 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 12, 195 Cal.Rptr.3d 724, 2015 Daily Journal D.A.R. 12, 362 P.3d 376, 62 Cal.4th 256 (Cal. 2015):
that he be literally concealed from view before he attacks the victim. ' [Citation.] ' [Citation.] As for the watching and waiting element, the purpose of this requirement is to distinguish those cases in which a defendant acts insidiously from those in which he acts out of rash impulse. [Citation.] This period need not continue for any particular length of time provided that its duration is such as to show a state of mind equivalent to premeditation or deliberation. [Citation.]' [Citation.] The factors of concealing murderous intent, and striking from a position of advantage and surprise, are the hallmark of a murder by lying in wait. (People v. Mendoza, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 1073, 132 Cal.Rptr.3d 808, 263 P.3d 1, fn. omitted.)
[62 Cal.4th 279]
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