Opinion ID: 2054675
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: People v. Baker

Text: On July 21, 1988, at approximately 11:30 p.m., defendant Baker was driving a pickup truck south on Grand Traverse Road in the city of Flint. The speed limit was thirty-five miles an hour. Witnesses estimated that defendant was traveling between sixty and seventy miles an hour. Defendant failed to stop for a red stoplight at the intersection of Grand Traverse Road and Atherton Road. He collided with the victims' vehicle, which was on Atherton Road properly crossing the intersection with the green light. Both occupants in the victims' car were killed. Approximately three hours after the accident, defendant's blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent. Defendant was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, M.C.L. § 750.317; M.S.A. § 28.549. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment, holding that there was insufficient evidence of defendant's state of mind to support a finding of malice, and that evidence of drunk driving and the reckless driving behavior that often goes with it could not, without more support a finding of malice. [7] We granted the prosecutor's application for leave to appeal. [8]