People v. Swain
California Supreme Court
12 Cal. 4th 593, 909 P.2d 994 (1996)
- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
Jamal K. Swain and David Chatman (defendants) participated in a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old boy. At trial, the court instructed the jury on the theories of express and implied-malice murder. The jury returned general verdicts convicting Chatman of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and convicting Swain of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Swain and Chatman appealed their convictions, and the People appealed the sentences imposed by the trial court. The appeals court affirmed the convictions and the sentences. The California Supreme Court granted the parties’ petitions for review. Among other things, the court considered the question of whether the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the principles of implied-malice murder in connection with the conspiracy charge, because implied malice does not require a finding of intent to kill.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Baxter, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 803,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
