Court Opinion

ID: 9793931
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:55:20.097263+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:08:09.200659
License: Public Domain

PETERS, J.
I dissent.
The majority have extended the felony-murder rule and repudiated in part the landmark decision in People v. Boss (1930) 210 Cal. 245 [290 P. 881]. I would adhere to the decision in Boss, and when this is done, it is clear that prejudicial error occurred in instructing the jury on the felony-murder doctrine thus requiring reversal of the judgment.
Section 189 of the Penal Code, which establishes the felony-first-degree-murder rule, provides that all “murder . . . which is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate . . . robbery ... is murder of the first degree; ...”
Section 211 of the Penal Code defines robbery as “the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.”
A literal reading of the sections, in light of the requirement of commission in the perpetration of the robbery and in light of the definition of robbery, would mean that the homicide must occur during the taking of the property and prior to the termination of the force and fear by which the taking was accomplished.
However, this court rejected a literal construction of the two' statutes • in People v. Boss, supra, 210 Cal. 245, and established a broader rule for determining whether a homicide occurred in the perpetration of the robbery or after its termination. In expanding the operation of the felony-murder rule in the robbery situation, the court in Boss established two limitations on the continuation of the robbery. Today, the majority repudiate one of the. limitations and to that extent overrule Boss. I cannot agree with the further expansion of the felony-murder doctrine.
People v. Boss, supra, 210 Cal. 245, involved two defendants who robbed a store and ran into the street; an employee immediately pursued *827them and was shot by Boss a moment later when the furthermost defendant was not more than 125 feet from the store. (Id. at pp. 247-248.) In holding that the trial court properly instructed the jury as to first degree felony murder because the homicide was committed in the perpetration of the robbery, this court stated: “It is a sound principle of law which inheres in common reason that where two or more persons engage in a conspiracy to commit robbery and an officer or citizen is murdered while in immediate pursuit of one of their number who is fleeing from the scene of the crime with the fruits thereof in his possession, or in the possession of a co-conspirator, the crime is not complete in the purview of the law, inasmuch as said conspirators have not won their way even momentarily to a place of temporary safety and the possession of the plunder is nothing more than a scrambling possession. In such a case the continuation of the use of arms which was necessary to aid the felon in reducing the property to possession is necessary to protect him in its possession and in making good his escape. Robbery, unlike burglary is not confined to a fixed locus, but is frequently spread over considerable distance and varying periods of time. The escape of the robbers with the loot, by means of arms, necessarily is as important to the execution of the plan as gaining possession of the property. Without revolvers to terrify, or, if occasion requires, to kill any person who attempts to apprehend them at the time of or immediately upon gaining possession of said property, their plan would be childlike. The defense of felonious possession which is challenged immediately upon the forcible taking is a part of the plan of robbery, or as the books express it, it is res gestae of the crime.” (Id. at pp. 250-251.)
The court thus established two requirements to establish that the robbery, was not complete. First, there must be “immediate pursuit” which means that the possession is merely a “scrambling possession.” This limitation finds some support in the language of the robbery statute because, so long as there is “immediate pursuit” and a mere “scrambling possession,” it can be argued that the “taking” of the property is not complete because it is being physically disputed. Second, the robbers must not have reached “a place of temporary safety.”
The majority today recognize but repudiate the first limitation, holding that the sole test is a place of temporary safety. In doing so, the majority rely upon People v. Ketchel, 59 Cal.2d 503 [30 Cal.Rptr. 538, 381 P.2d 394], and People v. Kendrick, 56 Cal.2d 71 [14 Cal.Rptr. 13, 363 P.2d 13]. Ketchel, however, on its facts involved a homicide which occurred within both limitations. There was immediate pursuit with the resulting mere scrambling possession, and the robbers had not reached a place of temporary safety. Although the court spoke only of the failure to reach a *828place of temporary safety in connection with the defendants’ contention, this Was because the defendants’ contention was based on the temporary-safety language in Boss. There was no intent to depart from the immediate pursuit and scrambling possession limitation; the court in fact quoted that limitation from Boss. (59 Cal.2d at p. 524.) Moreover, in the subsequent case of People v. Ford, 65 Cal.2d 41, 55-57 [52 Cal.Rptr. 228, 416 P.2d 132], we again reiterated both of the limitations set forth in Boss.
It is true that in Kendrick there was no immediate pursuit or scrambling possession and that the court, although citing and relying upon Boss, merely relied upon the failure of the robber to reach a point of temporary safety in upholding instructions on the felony-murder rule. However, I do not believe that Kendrick may be viewed as substantial authority warranting repudiation of the limitation of immediate pursuit and scrambling possession and of Boss and the numerous cases which have followed it. The defendant in that case urged that the homicide was too distant in time and place to classify it as having occurred during perpetration of the robbery. So far as appears, the defendant did not rely on the limitation of immediate pursuit and scrambling possession, and in answering the specific contention of defendant, it was proper to point out that Boss had established a rule which meant that it was not determinative that the homicide occurred some distance from the robbery and sometime later. Under the circumstances, it seems improper to hold that the court intended to repudiate one of the requirements of Boss, the case which was quoted from and principally relied upon.
Apart from their reliance on Ketchel and Kendrick, the majority give no reason to repudiate the first limitation of Boss, and in my view, those cases provide a weak foundation for the majority’s action. There are several reasons why we should adhere to the first limitation in Boss and not further extend the felony-murder rule.
The felony-murder doctrine ascribes malice aforethought to the felon who kills in the perpetration of an inherently dangerous felony and classifies the offense as murder of the first degree in homicides which are the direct result of those six felonies enumerated in section 189 of the Penal Code. (People v. Ireland, 70 Cal.2d 522, 538 [75 Cal.Rptr. 188, 450 P.2d 580, 40 A.L.R.3d 1323].) Although section 189 speaks only of degrees of “murder,” inadvertent or accidental killings are first degree murders when committed by felons in the perpetration of robbery, and the purpose of the rule is to deter felons from negligently or accidentally killing by holding them strictly responsible for killings they commit. (People v. Washington, 62 Cal.2d 777, 780-781 [44 Cal.Rptr. 442, 402 P.2d 130]; People v. Coefield, 37 Cal.2d 865, 868 [236 P.2d 570].)
*829“The felony-murder rule has been criticized on the grounds that in almost all cases in which it is applied it is unnecessary and that it erodes the relation between criminal liability and moral culpability.” (People v. Washington, supra, 62 Cal.2d 777, 783, and authorities cited; see also People v. Wilson, 1 Cal.3d 431, 440 [82 Cal.Rptr. 494, 462 P.2d 22]; People v. Ireland, supra, 70 Cal. 2d 522, 539.) The rule has been abolished in England where it had its origin (English Homicide Act, § 1, 1957, 5 & 6 Eliz. II, ch. 11). We have recently pointed out that the rule “expresses a highly artificial concept that deserves no extension beyond its required application.” (People v. Phillips, 64 Cal.2d 574, 582 [51 Cal.Rptr. 225, 414 P.2d 353].) Although the rule remains the law in this state, I do not believe we should extend its applicability by broadly defining the term robbery; instead in furtherance of the policy to equate criminal liability with culpability we should strictly limit the meaning of the term robbery as used in section 189.
To extend the felony-murder rule until the robber has reached a place of temporary safety, without regard to whether the decedent is a victim or witness of the crime and without regard to whether there has been a break in the pursuit, would mean that the death of victims of automobile collisions or of pedestrians occurring accidentally during an escape may constitute first degree murder. In the absence of a direct pursuit by victims or witnesses, such a broad application of the first degree felony-murder rule to accidental killings is not in accord with the purpose of the rule or the language of the statutes.
Once we depart from the literal definition of robbery in section 211 of the Penal Code, any test that might be used to determine whether a robbery is complete for purposes of the felony-murder rule is necessarily arbitrary. The place of temporary safety, or continuous flight, test is not directly related either to the increased foreseeable danger caused by the robbery or to the robber’s motive in seeking to escape detection. The increased risk of a killing occurring due to the commission of the robbery continues long after the robber reaches a place of temporary safety for he will continue to have the motive to kill to escape apprehension. In other words, the risk of injury or death to investigating officers seeking to apprehend the criminal may relate to whether the robber has the loot, is armed, or anticipates conviction, but it bears little relationship to whether the robber has reached a place of temporary safety.
A test based solely on place of temporary safety makes the length of the escape route the decisive consideration. If the robber leaves the scene of the robbery and reaches his hideout or home near the scene, the felony-*830murder rule is inapplicable under the place-of-temporary-safety test whether he is armed or still in possession of the loot, but if he must cross the city to his hideout and the homicide occurs prior to his doing so, the test would make the felony-murder rule applicable although the robber was not armed, he had lost or disposed of the loot, a pedestrian was killed, and the homicide occurred a substantial time after the taking of the property and the termination of the force and fear incident to it.
Finally, the place of temporary safety limitation finds no support in the language of the relevant statutes.
On the other hand, the limitation to immediate pursuit and scrambling possession, as we have seen, finds some support in the definition of robbery in section 211 of the Penal Code. Although this court may refuse to adhere to the literal wording of the statute as was done in Boss and the cases following it, we should not ignore the terms of the statute entirely. Where there is immediate pursuit by victims or witnesses of the taking or of the force and fear used in the robbery, the risk of injury or death is greatly increased, and it is not the same risk as exists with regard to apprehension occurring subsequent to the taking.
Of course, if the killing of an officer seeking to apprehend a felon is premeditated and with malice aforethought it is first degree murder (Pen. Code, § § 1'87, 189), and we may expect that the jury will so find. However, my view is that an accidental killing of a person seeking to apprehend the defendant should not be elevated to first degree murder merely because the felon had not reached a place of temporary safety, where the decedent was not a victim or witness of the robbery and where there was a break in the pursuit.
Accordingly, I would not repudiate either of the limitations established in Boss and the cases which have followed it.
As the majority point out, the evidence in the instant case is sufficient to warrant a finding of first degree murder on a theory of premeditation. The evidence also shows that the decedent was not the victim of the robbery or a witness to it and that there was a break in the pursuit. In my view, it was proper to submit the case to the jury on a theory of premeditation, but it was error to submit the case to the jury on the felony-murder theory. Defendant denied that he intended to kill decedent, and, if the jury were satisfied that the killing was inadvertent or unintentional, it should not have found him guilty of murder in the first degree. The felony-murder instructions, however, permitted a finding of first degree murder even if *831the shooting was inadvertent or unintentional, and in view of the jury’s express concern with the felony-murder instructions, the error must be held prejudicial.
I would reverse the judgment.