Source: https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/people-v-saille-31343
Timestamp: 2020-08-06 08:02:06
Document Index: 459081448

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 187', '§ 664', '§ 192', '§ 192', '§ 192', '§ 211', '§ 22']

People v. Saille - 54 Cal.3d 1103 S016721 - Thu, 12/12/1991 | California Supreme Court Resources
Home > Opinions > People v. Saille
Citation 54 Cal.3d 1103
People v. Saille (1991) 54 Cal.3d 1103 , 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 364; 820 P.2d 588
Following a retrial, defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of Guadalupe Borba (Pen. Code, § 187)fn. 2 and the attempted murder of David Ballagh (§§ 664/187). His earlier conviction for these crimes was reversed [54 Cal.3d 1108] on appeal for Wheeler error (People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258 [148 Cal.Rptr. 890, 583 P.2d 748]).
Defendant contends the court's instructions on the effect of voluntary intoxication were inadequate. The court gave CALJIC No. 4.21, stating that voluntary intoxication could be considered in determining whether defendant had the specific intent to kill. The court instructed on first and second degree murder and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. [1a] It did not, however, relate voluntary intoxication to anything other than the specific intent to kill. Defendant contends the instructions were insufficient because they did not tell the jury that voluntary intoxication, like heat of passion upon adequate provocation, could negate express malice and reduce what would otherwise be murder to voluntary manslaughter. Defendant also contends that the court should have instructed sua sponte that the jury could consider his voluntary intoxication in determining whether he had premeditated and deliberated the murder. Defendant further contends that the instructions on involuntary manslaughter improperly required a showing of unconsciousness. [54 Cal.3d 1109]
The first step in the development of the diminished capacity doctrine was taken in People v. Wells (1949) 33 Cal.2d 330 [202 P.2d 53]. (See People v. Wetmore (1978) 22 Cal.3d 318, 323 [149 Cal.Rptr. 265, 583 P.2d 1308].) In Wells the defendant, a life-term prisoner, was charged with assault on a prison guard, which was a capital offense if done with malice aforethought. The defendant contended he did not act with malice aforethought because he was reacting to an honest but unreasonable fear of bodily harm. He sought to introduce psychiatric testimony at the guilt phase to show that he was suffering from an abnormal physical and mental condition that caused him to fear for his personal safety in response to even slight external stimuli. We held that the trial court erred in excluding the proffered evidence. We explained: "Evidence which tends to show legal insanity ... is not admissible at the first stage of the trial because it is not pertinent to any issue then being litigated; but competent evidence, other than proof of sanity or insanity, which tends to show that a (then presumed) legally sane defendant either did or did not in fact possess the required specific intent or motive is admissible." (Wells, supra, 33 Cal.2d at p. 351, italics added.)
The next step was taken in People v. Gorshen (1959) 51 Cal.2d 716 [336 P.2d 492]. Gorshen, a longshoreman, reported to work intoxicated and was told by his foreman to go home. After Gorshen refused to leave, the two men fought briefly. The fight ended when the foreman knocked Gorshen to the ground. Gorshen announced that he was going to go home, get his gun, return, and kill the foreman. Gorshen went home, cleaned and loaded his gun, returned to the docks, and killed the foreman. In addition to introducing evidence of his intoxication, Gorshen introduced psychiatric testimony that he was suffering from a mental disease at the time of the killing. The psychiatrist described the effect of the disease and concluded that Gorshen did " 'not have the mental state which is required for malice aforethought or premeditation or anything which implies intention, deliberation or premeditation.' " (Id., at p. 723.) The trial court found Gorshen guilty of second degree murder. The court relied on the psychiatrist's testimony to reduce the murder to second degree, but found there was malice aforethought.
Citing People v. Wells, supra, 33 Cal.2d 330, we upheld the admission of the psychiatric evidence, as it was evidence of defendant's mental infirmity [54 Cal.3d 1110] short of insanity that tended to prove the defendant did not have the necessary specific mental state to commit first degree murder. (Gorshen, supra, 51 Cal.2d at p. 726.) In so doing, we opened the door for diminished capacity, since we permitted expert evidence "not as a 'complete defense' negating capacity to commit any crime but as a 'partial defense' negating [a] specific mental state essential to a particular crime." (Id., at p. 727.) Moreover, we recognized that murder could be reduced to manslaughter, not only on the statutory basis of the reasonable person objective standard of provocation (§ 192), but also on the subjective standard of defendant's voluntary intoxication or mental impairment. (51 Cal.2d at pp. 731-733.)
In People v. Conley (1966) 64 Cal.2d 310 [49 Cal.Rptr. 815, 411 P.2d 911] we applied the Gorshen-Wells principles to reverse the defendant's conviction of two counts of first degree murder. The defendant shot and killed his former girlfriend and her husband. He testified that he did not intend to kill the victims and that he did not remember anything from the time he was drinking at his sister's house until the time of his arrest shortly after the shooting. His blood-alcohol level was .21 percent three hours after the shooting. We held that the trial court erred in refusing to give voluntary manslaughter instructions based on the defendant's diminished capacity as a result of voluntary intoxication. We concluded that the statutory limitation of voluntary manslaughter to homicides caused by adequate provocation (§ 192) was not exclusive: "[S]ince the statute [§ 192] had been enacted before the concept of diminished capacity had been developed, its enumeration of nonmalicious criminal homicides did not include those in which the lack of malice results from diminished capacity." (Conley, supra, at p. 318.) As a result, malice aforethought could be negated by showing that a person who intentionally killed was incapable of harboring malice aforethought because of a mental disease or defect or intoxication. (Ibid.) To explain how diminished capacity negated malice, we redefined and expanded the mental component of malice aforethought beyond that stated in section 188fn. 3 to include a requirement that the defendant was able to comprehend the duty society places on all persons to act within the law, i.e., that he had an "awareness of the obligation to act within the general body of laws regulating society." (Id., at p. 322.) Pursuant to this definition, we concluded that someone who is unable, because of intoxication or mental illness, to comprehend his duty to govern his actions in accord with the duty imposed by law, cannot act with malice aforethought. [54 Cal.3d 1111]
In People v. Poddar (1974) 10 Cal.3d 750 [111 Cal.Rptr. 910, 518 P.2d 342] we put the final gloss on the definition of malice aforethought. There, in the context of implied malice, we added the requirement that the defendant, even if aware of his duty to act in accordance with the law, also be able to act in accordance with that duty. (Id., at p. 758.)
Finally, in People v. Wetmore, supra, 22 Cal.3d 318, we addressed the kind of evidence admissible on the issue of defendant's mental state. We held that evidence which tended to show a defendant could not form the requisite mental state is admissible in the guilt phase even though the evidence is also probative of insanity. In so doing, we rejected dictum in People v. Wells, supra, 33 Cal.2d 330, that evidence tending to show lack of mental capacity to commit the crime because of insanity was inadmissible at the guilt phase of trial. (People v. Wetmore, supra, 22 Cal.2d at p. 323.) We observed that our holding would result in the duplication of evidence presented at the legislatively mandated bifurcated trial on guilt and insanity. We therefore urged the Legislature to reconsider the wisdom of the statutes providing for bifurcated trial. (Id., at p. 331.)
[2] Section 28, subdivision (a) provides in pertinent part that evidence of mental illness "shall not be admitted to show or negate the capacity to form [54 Cal.3d 1112] any mental state," but is "admissible solely on the issue of whether or not the accused actually formed a required specific intent, premeditated, deliberated, or harbored malice aforethought, when a specific intent crime is charged." (Italics added.) Subdivision (b) of section 28 abolishes the defenses of diminished capacity, diminished responsibility, and irresistible impulse "as a matter of public policy."
Although there was initially some confusion about the interaction between section 25, subdivision (a) and section 28 (People v. Spurlin (1984) 156 Cal.App.3d 119, 128 [202 Cal.Rptr. 663]), courts and commentators now appear to agree that the two sections are complementary and that both statutes remain operative. (See 1 Witkin & Epstein, Cal. Criminal Law (2d ed. 1988) Defenses, § 211, pp. 241-243; People v. McCowan (1986) 182 Cal.App.3d 1, 11-13 [227 Cal.Rptr. 23]; People v. Young (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 891, 904-905 [234 Cal.Rptr. 819].)
[1b] Defendant argues that the new legislation did not limit the ability of an accused to reduce an intentional killing to voluntary manslaughter as a [54 Cal.3d 1113] result of mental illness or voluntary intoxication. He relies primarily on People v. Molina (1988) 202 Cal.App.3d 1168 [249 Cal.Rptr. 273].
We are unpersuaded by defendant's reliance on Molina, supra, 202 Cal.App.3d 1168, since the court's analysis failed to consider the effect on the definition of malice of the amendment to section 188, which was part of the same legislative package as sections 25, 28, and 29.
The first sentence of the underscored passage limits malice to the definition set forth in section 188. This sentence clearly provides that once the trier of fact finds a deliberate intention unlawfully to kill, no other mental state need be shown to establish malice aforethought. Whether a defendant acted with a wanton disregard for human life or with some antisocial motivation is [54 Cal.3d 1114] no longer relevant to the issue of express malice. (People v. Stress (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 1259, 1267-1268 [252 Cal.Rptr. 913].) No doubt about this conclusion is possible when the last sentence of section 188 is analyzed. That sentence directly repudiates the expanded definition of malice aforethought in People v. Conley, supra, 64 Cal.2d 310, and People v. Poddar, supra, 10 Cal.3d 750, that express and implied malice include an awareness of the obligation to act within the general body of laws regulating society and the capability of acting in accordance with such awareness. After this amendment of section 188, express malice and an intent unlawfully to kill are one and the same.fn. 6 (People v. Stress, supra, 205 Cal.App.3d at p. 1268.)
Pursuant to the language of section 188, when an intentional killing is shown, malice aforethought is established. Accordingly, the concept of "diminished capacity voluntary manslaughter" (nonstatutory manslaughter) recognized in Conley, supra, 64 Cal.2d 310, is no longer valid as a defense.
Defendant disagrees. Relying on the language in section 188 that requires for express malice a "deliberate intention unlawfully" to take a life, he argues that express malice requires more than mere intent to kill. We find the Court of Appeal's reasoning to the contrary in People v. Bobofn. * (1990) 229 Cal.App.3d 1417, 1440-1441 [271 Cal.Rptr. 277], persuasive: "From the time it was enacted in 1872, section 188 has stated that malice is express 'when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully' to kill. One might argue that the word 'deliberate' has a significance in the distinction between murder and manslaughter. That argument would be mistaken. [54 Cal.3d 1115] As noted in In re Thomas C. (1986) 183 Cal.App.3d 786, 796-797 [228 Cal.Rptr. 430]: 'In People v. Valentine (1946) 28 Cal.2d 121 [169 P.2d 1], our Supreme Court pointed out that it was "incorrect [to differentiate] manslaughter from murder on the basis of deliberate intent .... Deliberate intent ... is not an essential element of murder, as such. It is an essential element of one class only of first degree murder and is not at all an element of second degree murder." (Id., at pp. 131-132; [citations].) Indeed, the standard CALJIC instruction (No. 8.11 (1983 rev.)) has been held to be a correct definition of express malice aforethought, despite the fact that it does not use the word "deliberate" as used in Penal Code section 188, but merely states that "[m]alice is express when there is manifested an intention unlawfully to kill a human being." (CALJIC No. 8.11.) In short, "deliberate intention," as stated in Penal Code section 188, merely distinguishes "express" from "implied" malice, whereas premeditation and deliberation is one class of first degree murder.' (See also People v. Van Ronk, supra, 171 Cal.App.3d at p. 824.)
"Moreover, as defined in cases predating Conley and Conley's foundational pillars-People v. Wells (1949) 33 Cal.2d 330, and People v. Gorshen (1959) 51 Cal.2d 716-the concept of malice aforethought was manifested by the doing of an unlawful and felonious act intentionally and without legal cause or excuse. (People v. Balkwell (1904) 143 Cal. 259, 263 [76 P. 1017]; People v. Fallon (1906) 149 Cal. 287, 289-290 [86 P. 689]; People v. Coleman (1942) 50 Cal.App.2d 592, 596 [123 P.2d 557]; see also People v. Bender (1945) 27 Cal.2d 164, 181 [163 P.2d 8].) The adjective 'deliberate' in section 188 consequently implies an intentional act and is essentially redundant to the language defining express malice.
Molina had relied on the reference to malice aforethought in section 28, subdivision (a) to conclude that the Legislature had not foreclosed the possibility of a reduction of murder to voluntary manslaughter where malice is lacking due to mental illness or intoxication. (People v. Molina, supra, 202 Cal.App.3d at p. 1174.) As previously stated, however, the Molina analysis [54 Cal.3d 1116] did not consider the effect of the Legislature's amendment of the definition of malice in section 188.
[5] Defendant further argues that the Legislature's narrowing of the definition of express malice and the resulting restriction of the scope of voluntary manslaughter presents a due process problem. We disagree. The Legislature can limit the mental elements included in the statutory definition of a crime and thereby curtail use of mens rea defenses. (See Patterson v. New York (1977) 432 U.S. 197, 210-211 [53 L.Ed.2d 281, 292-293, 97 S.Ct. 2319].) If, however, a crime requires a particular mental state the Legislature may not deny a defendant the opportunity to prove he did not possess that state. (Id., at p. 215 [53 L.Ed.2d at p. 295].) The abolition of the diminished capacity defense and limitation of admissible evidence to actual formation of various mental states has been held not to violate the due process right to present a defense. (People v. Jackson (1984) 152 Cal.App.3d 961, 967-970 [199 Cal.Rptr. 848]; People v. Lynn (1984) 159 Cal.App.3d 715, 731-733 [206 Cal.Rptr. 181]; People v. Whitler (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 337, 340-341 [214 Cal.Rptr. 610].) If there is no due process impediment to the deletion of malice as an element of the crime of felony murder (People v. Dillon (1983) 34 Cal.3d 441, 472-476 [194 Cal.Rptr. 390, 668 P.2d 697]), there is likewise no problem here. [1c] In amending section 188 in 1981, the Legislature equated express malice with an intent unlawfully to kill. Since two distinct concepts no longer exist, there has been some narrowing of the mental element included in the statutory definition of express malice. A defendant, [54 Cal.3d 1117] however, is still free to show that because of his mental illness or voluntary intoxication, he did not in fact form the intent unlawfully to kill (i.e., did not have malice aforethought). (People v. Jackson, supra, 152 Cal.App.3d at p. 968.) In a murder case, if this evidence is believed, the only supportable verdict would be involuntary manslaughter or an acquittal. If such a showing gives rise to a reasonable doubt, the killing (assuming there is no implied malice) can be no greater than involuntary manslaughter. (See People v. Bobo,fn. * supra, 229 Cal.App.3d at pp. 1442- 1443.)
The Court of Appeal held that the abolition of the defense of diminished capacity had eliminated the need for a sua sponte instruction relating mental illness or voluntary intoxication to the required mental states. It relied on the analysis set forth by Justice Sims in his concurring opinion in People v. Whitler, supra, 171 Cal.App.3d at pages 342-343: "These cases represent variations of the familiar rule that a trial court has a sua sponte duty to give instructions relating a recognized defense to elements of a charged offense. (People v. Sedeno (1974) 10 Cal.3d 703, 716.) ... [T]he defense of diminished capacity has been abolished. A defendant may still defend against a charge of homicide by presenting evidence of mental disease or defect sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt that he or she in fact had the requisite mental state at the time of the offense. [Citation.] However, when a defendant presents evidence to attempt to negate or rebut the prosecution's proof of an element of the offense, a defendant is not presenting a special defense invoking sua sponte instructional duties. While a court may well have a duty to give a 'pinpoint' instruction relating such evidence to the elements of the offense and to the jury's duty to acquit if the evidence produces a reasonable doubt, such 'pinpoint' instructions are not required to be given sua sponte and must be given only upon request. [Citations.]" [54 Cal.3d 1118]
In contesting the Court of Appeal's determination on this issue, defendant relies primarily on People v. Jackson (1989) 49 Cal.3d 1170 [264 Cal.Rptr. 852, 783 P.2d 211] and People v. Ramirez (1990) 50 Cal.3d 1158 [270 Cal.Rptr. 286, 791 P.2d 965]. In Jackson, the defendant was convicted of first degree murder despite evidence that he did not recall the event and was a chronic user of phencyclidine (PCP). Defendant relies on our discussion in Jackson of the defendant's claim that the court erred in instructing on involuntary manslaughter. We noted that both the defense and prosecution had requested the instruction and that the defendant's testimony constituted evidence warranting it. We further stated: "Mitigation of the requisite mental state due to drug intoxication was the primary theory of defense and, even if the defense had not requested the instruction, the court clearly had a sua sponte duty to instruct as it did on both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter." (People v. Jackson, supra, 49 Cal.3d at p. 1196.) We did not, however, address the question presented here-whether there is a sua sponte duty to instruct on the relationship between voluntary intoxication and premeditation and deliberation. The court in this case did instruct on all aspects of homicide-first and second degree murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
In People v. Ramirez, supra, 50 Cal.3d 1158, the trial court refused to give a requested instruction under former CALJIC No. 8.41, relating diminished capacity caused by intoxication to voluntary manslaughter. We found the refusal proper in light of the abolition of the diminished capacity defense, but we noted that no one had raised the potential applicability of CALJIC No. 4.21, which deals with the effect of intoxication on the defendant's actual state of mind. Although we held that there was insufficient evidence of intoxication to warrant a sua sponte instruction, we also stated that "a number of decisions have specifically held that in an appropriate case a trial court has a sua sponte duty to instruct the jury on the principles embodied in CALJIC No. 4.21. (See, e.g., People v. Baker (1954) 42 Cal.2d 550, 576 [268 P.2d 705]; People v. Sanchez (1950) 35 Cal.2d 522, 527-528 [219 P.2d 9]; People v. Robinson (1970) 5 Cal.App.3d 43, 48 [84 Cal.Rptr. 796]; People v. Arriola (1958) 164 Cal.App.2d 430, 435.) ... Thus, when the evidence warrants and the defense is not inconsistent with the defendant's theory of the case (see People v. Sedeno (1974) 10 Cal.3d 703, 716 [112 Cal.Rptr. 1, 518 P.2d 913]), the principle embodied in CALJIC No. 4.21 is one of 'the general principles of law' (see People v. St. Martin (1970) 1 Cal.3d 524, 531 [83 Cal.Rptr. 166, 463 P.2d 390]) on which the trial court must instruct the jury even in the absence of a request." (People v. Ramirez, supra, 50 Cal.3d at pp. 1179-1180.)
The discussion in Ramirez, supra, 50 Cal.3d 1158, did not consider the points now raised and, in any event, was dictum. The Ramirez discussion [54 Cal.3d 1119] appears to assume that intoxication is in the nature of a defense. Technically, however, it was never a defense (see § 22). When voluntary intoxication became subsumed by diminished capacity, it was treated as a part of the defense of diminished capacity. (See, e.g., People v. Gorshen, supra, 51 Cal.2d at p. 727; People v. Conley, supra, 64 Cal.2d 310.) [7] The withdrawal of diminished capacity as a defense removes intoxication from the realm of defenses to crimes. Intoxication is now relevant only to the extent that it bears on the question of whether the defendant actually had the requisite specific mental state. [8] Thus it is now more like the "pinpoint" instructions discussed in People v. Sears (1970) 2 Cal.3d 180, 190 [84 Cal.Rptr. 711, 465 P.2d 847], and People v. Rincon-Pineda (1975) 14 Cal.3d 864, 885 [123 Cal.Rptr. 119, 538 P.2d 247, 92 A.L.R.3d 845], to which a defendant is entitled upon request. Such instructions relate particular facts to a legal issue in the case or "pinpoint" the crux of a defendant's case, such as mistaken identification or alibi. (See People v. Rincon-Pineda, supra, 14 Cal.3d at p. 885.) They are required to be given upon request when there is evidence supportive of the theory, but they are not required to be given sua sponte.
All of the cases relied upon and cited by Ramirez were decided after our embarkation on the development of the diminished capacity theory in 1949 in People v. Wells, supra, 33 Cal.2d 330. Moreover, they provide only minimal support for the proposition for which they were cited. In People v. Sanchez (1950) 35 Cal.2d 522, 527-528 [219 P.2d 9], there was evidence that the defendant had been drinking heavily, but the trial court refused to give the defendant's requested instruction regarding intoxication on the ground that the proffered instruction was incorrect. This court held that the trial court should have given its own instruction if the defendant's version was incorrect. In People v. Baker (1954) 42 Cal.2d 550 [268 P.2d 705], the trial court gave misleading instructions by reciting only the first part of section 22 to the effect that voluntary intoxication does not excuse criminal conduct without informing that jury that it could nevertheless consider voluntary intoxication in determining whether the requisite intent had been shown. We stated: "Although we might hesitate before holding that the absence of any instruction on voluntary intoxication in a situation such as that presented in this case is prejudicial error, when a partial instruction has been given we cannot but hold that the failure to give complete instructions was prejudicial error." (42 Cal.2d at pp. 575-576.) People v. Arriola (1958) 164 Cal.App.2d 430 [330 P.2d 683] also involved the giving of only the first part of the intoxication instruction. Without the second part of the instruction it was misleading and erroneous. Finally, People v. Robinson (1970) 5 Cal.App.3d 43 [84 Cal.Rptr. 796] rejected a claim that the court should have instructed on intoxication on the ground that there was insufficient evidence to justify such an instruction. In passing, however, the court stated: "While a trial [54 Cal.3d 1120] court on its own motion must instruct the jury with respect to the effect of intoxication on a crime requiring specific intent where evidence of intoxication raises a factual issue (People v. Baker, 42 Cal.2d 550, 572-573, 576; People v. Arriola, 164 Cal.App.2d 430, 434- 435), here the evidence of intoxication was minimal and such instruction was unnecessary." (Id., at p. 48.)
Thus, the authority supportive of the asserted sua sponte duty appears to consist entirely of dicta. (See also People v. Crawford (1968) 259 Cal.App.2d 874, 877-878 [66 Cal.Rptr. 527]; People v. Watts (1976) 59 Cal.App.3d 80, 84-85 [130 Cal.Rptr. 601].) The only case involving a direct holding that it was error to fail to instruct sua sponte on voluntary intoxication was itself based on the previously mentioned dicta. (People v. Fanning (1968) 265 Cal.App.2d 729, 733 [71 Cal.Rptr. 641].)
[9] Defendant contends that the instructions on involuntary manslaughter improperly required a showing of unconsciousness. The court gave CALJIC No. 8.45, which defined involuntary manslaughter as follows: "Involuntary manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought and without an intent to kill. [¶] In order to prove the [54 Cal.3d 1121] commission of the crime of involuntary manslaughter, each of the following elements must be proved: [¶] 1. That a human being was killed, and [¶] 2. That the killing was unlawful. [¶] A killing is unlawful within the meaning of this instruction if it occurred: [¶] 1. During the commission of a misdemeanor which is inherently dangerous to human life, namely, the offense of exhibiting a deadly weapon, or [¶] 2. In the commission of an act ordinarily lawful which involves a high degree of risk of death or great bodily harm, without due caution and circumspection."
The court also instructed on voluntary intoxication as it related to the intent to kill (CALJIC No. 4.21). We agree with the Court of Appeal that the trial court was not required sua sponte to give "pinpoint" instructions relating voluntary intoxication to the elements of the crime-malice and intent to kill. If defendant had wanted more precise instruction on the possibility of voluntary intoxication negating intent to kill, he should have requested such. Defendant's reliance on People v. Ray (1975) 14 Cal.3d 20 [120 Cal.Rptr. 377, 533 P.2d 1017] is misplaced because unlike the Ray court, the court here did instruct on involuntary manslaughter. It was the "pinpoint" instruction that was missing here, not the instruction on a lesser included offense. [54 Cal.3d 1122]
­FN 1. Another type of nonstatutory voluntary manslaughter-the so-called "imperfect self-defense" doctrine-has been recognized in California. That doctrine applies to reduce an intentional killing from murder to manslaughter when a person kills under an honest but unreasonable belief in the necessity to defend against imminent peril to life or great bodily injury. (People v. Flannel (1979) 25 Cal.3d 668, 674-680 [160 Cal.Rptr. 84, 603 P.2d 1]; People v. Van Ronk (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 818, 823 [217 Cal.Rptr. 581].) This doctrine has no application to the facts before us, and we do not decide whether it has been affected by Proposition 8 and the 1981 legislation.
­FN 3. Section 188 at that time provided that malice "may be express or implied. It is express when there is manifested a deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow-creature. It is implied, when no considerable provocation appears, or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart." (People v. Conley, supra, 64 Cal.2d at p. 320.)
­FN 4. The original version of Senate Bill No. 54 was far more sweeping in effect. It would have repealed the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, abolished diminished capacity, and made mental illness and voluntary intoxication matters to be considered only in mitigation of punishment. The scope of the bill was narrowed as it went through the Legislature. The last amendments made by the Assembly on August 11, 1981, resulted in the language we must interpret in sections 22, 28, and 29. (Sen. Bill No. 54, as amended Aug. 11, 1981.)
­FN 5. Subsequent minor amendments have been made to these statutes. We quote the current version of the statutes.
­FN 6. Some commentators have referred to this as a return to the strict mens rea approach. (Comment, Admissibility of Psychiatric Testimony in the Guilt Phase of Bifurcated Trials: What's Left After the Reforms of the Diminished Capacity Defense?, supra, 16 Pacific L.J. 305; Morse & Cohen, Diminishing Diminished Capacity in California (June 1982) 2 Cal.Law., at p. 24.)
­FN *. Review granted October 11, 1990 (S016988); opinion ordered published December 11, 1991, pursuant to rules 976(d) and 978(c), California Rules of Court. Later, review was dismissed as "improvidently granted" on February 13, 1992, with directions that the opinion remain published.
­FN *. See footnote, ante, page 1114.
Petition for review after the Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment of conviction of criminal offenses. Presents issues relating to the effect of voluntary intoxication, or mental disease, defect or disorder, on the formation of malice aforethought.
Thu, 12/12/1991 54 Cal.3d 1103 S016721 Review - Criminal Appeal closed; remittitur issued
1 Saille, Manuel De Jesus (Appellant)
Represented by Janet E. Neeley
3 Dannenberg, John E. (Pub/Depublication Requestor)
900 North Point, Ste 450
5 Appellate Defenders, Inc. (Amicus curiae)
Represented by Thomas J. Orloff
Appellate Committee Of The Cal.District Attorney
Applt to file reply brief on the merits. asking to March 13.
Applt Saille / Record Req (Barbara)
LA County public Defender - Me Too letter
Sep 18 1990 Request for depublication (petition for review pending)
Sep 20 1990 Time Extended to grant or deny Petition for Review
Review to 10-22-90
Oct 11 1990 Petition for review granted (criminal case)
Nov 8 1990 Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief
From Calif Attys for Crim Justice
Nov 13 1990 Counsel appointment order filed
Central California Appellate Program for Applt Saille
Nov 19 1990 Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. brief Due: 12-13-90 Ans Due: 1-14-91
Dec 10 1990 Application for Extension of Time filed
Counsel for Applt to file Opening brief on the merits - asking to 12-23-90.
Dec 11 1990 Extension of Time application Granted
To file Applt's Opening brief To 12-23-90
Dec 12 1990 Application for Extension of Time filed
By A/C Cal Attys for Crim Just.to file A/C brief
Dec 17 1990 Extension of time granted
To Cal Attys for Criminal Justice To 12-23-90 To file A/C/ brief in support of Applt Ans Due: 1-22-91
Dec 24 1990 Amicus Curiae Brief filed by:
Cal Attys for Criminal Justice
Dec 24 1990 Opening brief on the merits filed
Appellant Saille
By Resp AG to file Ans brief on the merits
For Resp to file Ans. brief on the merits to 2-1-91
Jan 18 1991 Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief
Appellate Committe of the California D.A.'s Assoc.
Jan 24 1991 Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted
Appellate Committee of the Cal D.A.'s Assn in Sup Ort of Resp. brief Due: 2-21-91 Ans Due: 3-13-91
Jan 25 1991 Received:
Appl of A/C Comm of Cal public Defenders for Perm to file A/C in support of Applt & Appl to file in Excess of 50 pages (2 Documents)
Jan 28 1991 Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief
Appellate Defenders, Inc. [Aplt Saille]
Jan 31 1991 Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted
Appellate Defenders, Inc. [Aplt Saille] Ans Due: 2-22-91
Jan 31 1991 Amicus Curiae Brief filed by:
Calif public Defenders Assn in Excess of 50 pages [Aplt Saille] Ans Due: 2-22-91
Calif public Defenders Assn:Oversize [Aplt Saille]
Feb 1 1991 Answer brief on the merits filed
Feb 7 1991 Telephone conversation with:
Appellate Comm D.A.'s Ofc Advising They Never Recd copy of Order - See entry #19. Due to Inadvertent error, Counsel Was Omitted from Service List.
Feb 20 1991 Application for Extension of Time filed
Cal District Attys Assn to file A/C in support of Respondent - asking to March 7.
Feb 22 1991 Response to Amicus Curiae Brief filed by:
Aty for Resp to Amici: Appellate Defenders, Inc. (filed in Sac)
Feb 27 1991 Extension of Time application Granted
To file Applt's reply brief To 3-27-91
To file A/C brief of Cal. Dist. Atty's Assn. in support of Respondent To 3-7-91. Ans Due: 3/27/91
Mar 7 1991 Amicus Curiae Brief filed by:
By Attorneys on behalf of A/C Appellate Committee of California D.A.'s Assoc.
Mar 11 1991 Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in support of Respondent (Appl. Only)
Crim Justice Legal Foundation in support of Resp. brief Due: 4/5/91. Ans Due: 4/25/91.
Mar 27 1991 Reply brief filed (case fully briefed)
by appellant Manuel De Jesus Saille [entension granted -- Dock #31]
Apr 8 1991 Amicus Curiae Brief filed by:
AC Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in support of Respondent - Rule 40n [Docket #35]
Apr 23 1991 Application for Extension of Time filed
Applt to file Ans to A/C brief of Crim Justice Legal Foundation. Due 4/25. asking to 5/15/91. (filed in Sac)
To file Applt's reply To A/C of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation To 5-15-91.
May 15 1991 Filed:
Applt's reply to A/C of Criminal Justice Legal Fdn
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 1991, 1:30 P.M., Sacramento
J. Neeley, Deputy AG (Resp) Re: Addi'l Authority
Oct 24 1991 Request for Judicial Notice filed
By Counsel for Aplt. with Exhibits attached
Dec 27 1991 Rehearing Petition filed by:
By Appellant Saille [filed in Sacto]
Jan 3 1992 Time extended to consider modification or rehearing
to 3/11/92
Feb 6 1992 Received:
Martin Nebrida Buchanan (Appellate Defenders, Inc.)
Thomas J. Orloff (Appellate Committee Of The Cal.District Attorney)
Madeline Mcdowell (California Public Defenders Association)
Janet E. Neeley
SCOCAL, People v. Saille , 54 Cal.3d 1103 available at: (https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/people-v-saille-31343) (last visited Thursday August 6, 2020).