California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Davis, 189 Cal.App.3d 1177, 234 Cal.Rptr. 859 (Cal. App. 1987):
The defendant contends that the evidence in insufficient to sustain the conviction for first degree murder. The jury was instructed on three theories of first degree murder, i.e., willful, deliberate and premeditated; in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a robbery (felony murder), and by torture. Three special circumstances were alleged, i.e., murder in the commission or attempted commission of a robbery, murder by torture, and multiple murder convictions. None was found to be true. He infers that, by a process of elimination, the jury must have based its verdict on the theory of a willful, deliberate and premeditated killing. Since there was no evidence of prior planning activity, a motive to kill or a deliberate intention to kill, he argues, the evidence is insufficient to meet the test of People v. Anderson (1968) 70 Cal.2d 15, 26-27, 33-34, 73 Cal.Rptr. 550, 447 P.2d 942, and the conviction must be reversed or, at least, reduced to second degree murder.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.