California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Medrano, F068714, F069260 (Cal. App. 2016):
Attempted murder requires the specific intent to kill, along with the commission of a direct but ineffectual act toward accomplishing the attempted killing. (People v. Perez (2010) 50 Cal.4th 222, 229-230.) The evidence each defendant had the specific intent to kill Machado is very substantial. We conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that absent the inadmissible gang evidence, the jury would still have convicted all three defendants of counts 1, 2, and 4, and convicted Avellanoza of count 3.
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Defendants argue the trial court erred in denying their motion to bifurcate the gang issues. The trial court has discretion to bifurcate issues in a jury trial, although no statute requires bifurcation. The trial court has broad discretion to control the conduct of a criminal trial. (People v. Hernandez, supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 1048.) To the extent evidence supporting a gang enhancement would be admissible at a trial determining a defendant's guilt, any inference of prejudice would be dispelled and bifurcation would be unnecessary. (Id. at pp. 1049-1050.)
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