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People v. Phillips
Supreme Court of California
414 P.2d 353 (1966)
Facts
Phillips (defendant), a doctor of chiropractics, persuaded the parents of an eight-year-old child with terminal cancer to forgo surgery that would have saved her life and instead utilize Phillips’ treatment designed to “build up her resistance.” The parents paid $700 to Phillips for treatment and medicine, but the child died six months later. Phillips was charged with murder. The trial judge instructed the jury that it could convict Phillips of murder if it found that he had committed theft by deception, i.e. grand theft, and that the child died as a proximate result. Phillips was convicted of felony murder and he appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tobriner, J.)
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