Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 16,300 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 223 casebooks ► [ Ссылка ]

People v. Scott | 927 P.2d 288 (1996)

In California, first-degree murder requires intent to kill. Under the transferred-intent doctrine, a defendant who intends to kill someone but mistakenly kills another meets the intent element of first-degree murder. In People versus Scott, we examine transferred intent in connection with two defendants with bad aim.

Calvin Hughes and his girlfriend were estranged, and Hughes needed to retrieve his belongings from their shared apartment. Accompanied by his friend, Gary Tripp, Hughes forcibly entered the apartment and gathered his belongings. As the pair exited, Hughes’s girlfriend threatened to summon her sons, Damien Scott and Derrick Brown. Hughes and Tripp next drove to the parking lot of a community park and chatted with some people there, including Jack Gibson. Suddenly, Scott and Brown drove into the lot and fired a hail of gunshots in the area. Hughes fled and survived. But Tripp was seriously injured, and Gibson was killed.

In a California trial court, a prosecutor charged Scott and Brown with first-degree murder of Gibson and attempted murder of Hughes and Tripp. For the murder charge, the prosecutor argued that although Scott and Brown didn’t intend to kill Gibson, their intent to kill Hughes was enough to sustain convictions for Gibson’s murder. The judge instructed the jury that a defendant who deliberately attempts to kill someone but unintentionally kills another is just as liable as if the defendant had succeeded with the intended killing. The jury convicted Scott and Brown of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and other crimes. Scott and Brown appealed, arguing that their convictions of attempted murder were improper because the prosecution tried the pair for Gibson’s murder based on a transferred-intent theory. The California Court of Appeal disagreed and affirmed the trial court’s decision. Scott and Brown then appealed to the California Supreme Court, which granted review.



Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: [ Ссылка ]

The Quimbee App features over 16,300 case briefs keyed to 223 casebooks. Try it free for 7 days! ► [ Ссылка ]

Have Questions about this Case? Submit your questions and get answers from a real attorney here: [ Ссылка ]

Did we just become best friends? Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel ► [ Ссылка ]
Quimbee Case Brief App ► [ Ссылка ]
Facebook ► [ Ссылка ]
Twitter ► [ Ссылка ]
#casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries

свернуть