People v. Bland
California Supreme Court
28 Cal. 4th 313, 48 P.3d 1107 (2002)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Kenneth Wilson, Skylar Morgan, and Leon Simon were in a car. Jomo Bland (defendant), shot at the car after identifying Wilson. Wilson died, and Morgan and Simon were injured. Bland was charged with Wilson’s murder and the attempted murder of Morgan and Simon. At trial, the court instructed the jury on transferred intent as applied to the murder of Wilson. The instructions did not discuss transferred intent as applied to attempted murder. The court further instructed the jury that a determination of premeditation of Wilson’s murder does not carry over to premeditation for the attempted murder charges. In other words, the court instructed the jury that they had to determine the intent separately for each count of murder and attempted murder. Bland was convicted of the murder of Wilson and the premeditated attempted murders of Morgan and Simon. The appellate court reversed the attempted-murder convictions, finding that the trial court’s jury instructions were erroneous. The Supreme Court of California granted the Attorney General’s petition for review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Chin, J.)
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