Murder

Generally, to prove that a defendant is guilty of murder, the prosecution must prove that:
(1) the defendant committed an act that caused the death of another person or a fetus, AND
(2) when the defendant acted, he or she had a state of mind called malice aforethought. If there is sufficient evidence of excuse or justification, the prosecution must also prove that:
(3) he or she killed without lawful excuse or justification.

There are two kinds of malice aforethought, express malice and implied malice. Proof of either is sufficient to establish the state of mind required for murder. The defendant acted with express malice if he or she unlawfully intended to kill. The defendant acted with implied malice if:
(1) he or she intentionally committed an act,
(2) the natural consequences of the act were dangerous to human life,
(3) at the time he or she acted, he or she knew the act was dangerous to human life, and
(4) he or she deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human or fetal life. Malice aforethought does not require hatred or ill will toward the victim. It is a mental state that must be formed before the act that causes death is committed. It does not require deliberation or the passage of any particular period of time. An act causes death if the death is the direct, natural, and probable consequence of the act and the death would not have happened without the act.

Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. Murder and manslaughter are types of homicide. Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought. Manslaughter is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. There are three types of manslaughter under the California Penal Code:
(1) voluntary (upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion),
(2) involuntary (in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection, i.e. gross or criminal negligence), and
(3) vehicular. Whether a crime constitutes murder in the first degree, as opposed to some other type of homicide, such as second degree murder or manslaughter, will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case and the prosecution’s theory of the case. For example, under the California Penal Code, all murders which are perpetrated by means of a destructive device or explosive, a weapon of mass destruction, knowing use of ammunition designed primarily to penetrate metal or armor, poison, lying in wait, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which is committed in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate certain felonies, or any murder perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person outside the vehicle with the intent to inflict death, is murder of the first degree. All other kinds of murders are of the second degree. (CALCRIM Nos. 500, 520, 521; Cal. Penal Code §§187, 189, 192)

Murder is the generally considered the most serious crime a person can be charged with. If you or someone you love has been charged with any kind of murder, the stakes are simply to high to risk using a public defender. This could literally be a matter of life or death. Call The Scranton Law Firm immediately for a free consultation.