What is the test for a defense of diminished actuality in the context of unlawful homicide?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Dang, D063310 (Cal. App. 2014):
An unlawful homicide without intent to kill and without conscious disregard for life is involuntary manslaughter. (People v. Butler (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 998, 1006.) Involuntary manslaughter can arise from a lawful act, a misdemeanor, or a noninherently dangerous felony committed with criminal negligence; that is, aggravated, reckless conduct that creates a foreseeably high risk of death. (Id. at pp. 1006, 1008.)
"To support a defense of 'diminished actuality,' a defendant presents evidence of voluntary intoxication or mental condition to show he 'actually' lacked the mental states required for the crime." (People v. Clark (2011) 52 Cal.4th 856, 880, fn. 3.) "[T]he jury may generally consider evidence of voluntary intoxication or mental condition in
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