Court Opinion

ID: 9545931
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:22:21.445214+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:15:46.922374
License: Public Domain

BIRD, C. J., Dissenting.
Today, this court not only rewrites the law of implied malice but makes it a virtual certainty that any individual who knowingly drives to a social outing, takes a few drinks, and while driving home is involved in an accident in which a death occurs, may be *302charged with murder in the second degree. In order to achieve this unusual result, the majority ignore facts and apply an improper legal standard to reverse the magistrate’s refusal to hold respondent to answer and the superior court’s grant of respondent’s motion to dismiss the charge of murder under Penal Code section 995.
The majority opinion fails to take into account the following evidence which was presented at the preliminary hearing. The prosecutor called Paul Henke as an adverse witness. Henke testified that he was driving along Cypress Avenue when respondent sped by at 55 or 60 miles per hour. As respondent approached the intersection of Cypress and Athens, where the fatal accident occurred, the light was green. At the scene, Henke spoke to some officers, whom he later identified at the trial. No one asked him to make a statement, and the officers merely told him to get out of the way. The next day, Henke called the police because he had heard a news report requesting that witnesses identify themselves. He informed them that he had been a witness. Henke did not know respondent before the accident and had not had any contact with him since.
The prosecutor argued before the magistrate that Henke had perjured himself and that he was hostile toward the police and the district attorney’s office. The prosecutor called several officers who testified that they had not seen or spoken to Henke when they arrived at the scene of the accident. They testified that Henke may have arrived later. The prosecutor also contended that Henke’s testimony could not be true and claimed it conflicted with expert testimony that respondent must have been speeding at 70 to 80 miles per hour on Cypress Avenue. Other expert testimony was presented concerning the timing of the traffic signal at the scene of the accident. However, the expert witness could not testify as to the color of the light at the time of the accident since he was not there. Apart from Henke, no witness testified about the color of the light.
The majority claim that they are only reviewing undisputed facts. (Maj. opn. at p. 300.) But material facts—whether respondent drove down Cypress Avenue at 55 or 60 as opposed to 70 or 80 miles per hour, and whether he had a green light as he started into the intersection where the accident occurred—were disputed. The majority acknowledge Henke’s testimony. (Maj. opn. at p. 294.) However, in making the crucial determination as to whether there was probable cause to hold respondent to answer, they conveniently ignore Henke’s *303testimony. (Id., at p. 301.) The only way that they can ignore this testimony, which is in respondent’s favor, is to first decide that Henke was not a credible witness. This is not an undisputed fact. It is a conclusion impermissibly drawn by the majority.
If the magistrate had held respondent to answer, the court could draw all legitimate inferences from the evidence which favored that action. (Rideout v. Superior Court (1967) 67 Cal.2d 471, 474 [62 Cal. Rptr. 581, 432 P.2d 197].) Deference is given to a magistrate’s finding of probable cause. The magistrate weighs the evidence, resolves any factual conflicts, and determines the credibility of the witnesses. (Jones v. Superior Court (1971) 4 Cal.3d 660, 667 [94 Cal.Rptr. 289, 483 P.2d 1241].) The superior or appellate court may not substitute its judgment for that of the magistrate as it relates to conflicts in or the weight of the evidence. (Ibid.)
This rule is in accord with the general rule of appellate review that evidence adduced in the trial court is viewed on appeal in the light most favorable to the judgment entered below. (6 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed. 1971) Appeal, § 245, pp. 4236-4238, and cases cited.)
Here, the magistrate failed to find probable cause. Therefore, there is no legal or factual basis for this court to defer to the validity of the information. No deference can be given under these circumstances without directly interfering with the magistrate’s power to weigh the evidence and decide disputed factual issues. Yet, that is what the majority have done.
When a superior or appellate court reviews a magistrate’s determination that probable cause did not exist, the court should resolve all conflicts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the judgment below. (Witkin, op. cit. supra, at p. 4236.)
In this case any inferences drawn should be in favor of the magistrate’s determination of lack of probable cause. These would include the facts that respondent had a green light on Cypress and that he was driving at 55 to 60 miles per hour. These inferences are reasonable. There was no evidence of fabrication or of a motive for Henke to fabricate. He did not know respondent. He had a reasonable explanation for waiting more than a day to give a statement to the police. The officers at the scene of the accident had told him to keep away.
*304At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution was required to present evidence of each element of a murder based on an implied-malice theory. (Williams v. Superior Court (1969) 71 Cal.2d 1144, 1148-1149 [80 Cal.Rptr. 747, 81 Cal.Rptr. 761, 458 P.2d 987]; Birt v. Superior Court (1973) 34 Cal.App.3d 934, 937 [110 Cal.Rptr. 321].) As the majority recognize, those elements are that the accused, “knowing that his conduct endangered] the life of another, nonetheless act[ed] deliberately with conscious disregard for life.” (Maj. opn. at p. 296.) In other words, the accused must have (1) intended to commit an act likely to kill with (2) conscious disregard for life. (People v. Washington (1965) 62 Cal.2d 777, 780 [44 Cal.Rptr. 442, 402 P.2d 130].) The majority fail to demonstrate that the existence of either element can reasonably be inferred from the facts presented below.
Given Henke’s testimony, it cannot be found that respondent committed an act likely to kill. The act of speeding through a green light at 55 or 60 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone was dangerous, but was not an act likely to result in the death of another. It was 1 o’clock in the morning. The person whose car respondent nearly collided with testified that he saw no other cars around.
Respondent’s acts were not comparable to those of the defendants in People v. Fuller (1978) 86 Cal.App.3d 618 [150 Cal.Rptr. 515], cited by the majority (maj. opn. at pp. 298-299). In that case, the court observed in dicta that the defendants could be prosecuted for second degree murder on an implied-malice theory. (86 Cal.App.3d at pp. 628-629.) The defendants had fled from the police after being caught in an attempted auto burglary. They sped through the main thoroughfares of Fresno at 8:30 on a Sunday morning. They were driving on the wrong side of the road and cars had to swerve off the road to avoid them. They ran a red light, causing other cars to stop sharply in order to avoid collisions. They drove their car toward two police vehicles which were attempting to block them. The police were required to take defensive action to avoid a collision. The defendants ran a second red light, collided with another car, and killed its driver. (Id., at pp. 621, 629.) Compare those facts with this case. Respondent drove down empty streets at 1 o’clock in the morning. There was no evidence that he ran a red light at the intersection where the accident occurred. His conduct was not like that evidenced in Fuller, where the defendants’ acts were likely to result in the death of others.
*305The fact that respondent was under the influence of alcohol made his driving more dangerous. A high percentage of accidents is caused by such drivers. (Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890, 898-899 [157 Cal.Rptr. 693, 598 P.2d 854].) No one holds a brief for this type of activity. However, a rule should not be promulgated by this court that driving while under the influence of alcohol is sufficient to establish an act “likely to kill.” Death or injury is not the probable result of driving while under the influence of alcohol. “Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Californians each week reach home without accident despite their driving intoxicated.” (Id., at p. 907, dis. opn. of Clark, J.)
The majority also fail to demonstrate that it is reasonable to infer that respondent had a conscious disregard for life. Can a conscious disregard for life be established by the fact that several hours before the accident respondent drove his car to a bar? The majority hold as a matter of law that he “must have known” he would have to drive his car later and that he wilfully drank alcohol until he was under its influence. (Maj. opn. at p. 300.)
How does respondent’s state of mind at the time he drove to the bar and began drinking justify an inference that he had a reckless state of mind at the time of the accident? This meager evidence does not justify the inference that by drinking alcohol he harbored a conscious disregard for life when he later drove his car! I submit that the majority’s reasoning that such an inference may be drawn to support a finding of implied malice will be used to establish second degree murder in every case in which a person drives a car to a bar, a friend’s home, or a party, drinks alcohol so that he is under its influence, drives away and is involved in a fatal accident. Moreover, newly enacted legislation will make it easier than ever to establish implied malice. Under a bill recently signed by the Governor, the rebuttable presumption that a person is under the influence of alcohol if his blood alcohol content is 0.10 percent or more has been eliminated. Instead, the new statute makes it a crime to drive with a blood alcohol content of 0.10 percent or more. In effect, it creates a conclusive presumption that the driver is under the influence of alcohol. (Veh. Code, §§ 23102.6, 23126, Stats. 1981, ch. 939, §§ 10, 11, approved by Governor, Sept. 29, 1981, eff. Jan. 1, 1982.) Under this conclusive presumption and the majority’s erroneous expansion of the concept of implied malice, a person who had only a few drinks could readily find himself charged with and convicted of second degree murder.
*306The majority’s reasoning also perpetuates the fiction that when a person drinks socially, he wilfully drinks to come under the influence of alcohol and with this knowledge drives home at a later time. This unfounded conclusion ignores social reality. “[Tjypically [a person] sets out to drink without becoming intoxicated, and because alcohol distorts judgment, he overrates his capacity, and misjudges his driving ability after drinking too much.” (Taylor, supra, 24 Cal.3d at p. 908, dis. opn. of Clark, J.)
Clearly, evidence regarding respondent’s drinking earlier in the evening bears little relevance to his state of mind at the time of the accident. The majority’s reliance on evidence of respondent’s presumed state of mind before he began driving violates the basic principle that a crime cannot be committed unless there is unity of act and intent. (Pen. Code, § 20.)
The majority’s errors are compounded by the fact that they improperly presume that respondent harbored a conscious disregard for life. Thus, they state that respondent “must have known” he would drive after drinking (maj. opn. at p. 300), and that it “may be presumed that [he] was aware of the hazards of driving while intoxicated” (ibid.). These presumptions improperly dilute the requirement that the prosecution must prove the accused’s intent to commit an act likely to kill with conscious disregard for life.
The majority point to respondent’s drinking as evidence of the implied-malice element that he committed an act likely to kill. However, they ignore the fact that driving while under the influence may also show lack of a conscious appreciation of the risk of harm presented to others. (See Pen. Code, § 22.)1 The majority err in deeming this evidence relevant only at trial when and if a diminished capacity defense is raised. (Maj. opn. at p. 301.)
Finally, the majority distort the evidence and draw the wrong inference from the testimony presented at the preliminary examination that respondent put on his brakes just before the fatal accident. They infer *307that this shows that respondent knew of the risk he created to the lives of others. However, the majority fail to draw the obvious inference that respondent consciously sought to avoid the risk of injuring or killing anyone. The latter inference tends to disprove the element required for implied malice that the act evidenced a conscious disregard for life.
The elements of implied malice have not been established. Speeding through a green light is not an act likely to kill. Nor was this act done intentionally with conscious disregard for life. The fact that respondent earlier that evening drove to a bar is of little probative value in determining his state of mind sometime later.
The only evidence bearing significantly on respondent’s state of mind was the fact that he was driving at a time when he was under the influence of alcohol. This fact tends to disprove the element of conscious disregard for life. To rule otherwise is to establish with one stroke of the pen a new crime of second degree murder for anyone who is involved in an accident when driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, where the accident results in the death of another person.
The fact that the Legislature adopted a vehicular manslaughter statute (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. 3), indicates that the Legislature intended that statute to cover these situations. I am certain the Legislature never foresaw that this court would expand the concept of implied malice so as to rewrite the law in this area. I cannot so lightly rewrite the Legislature’s statutes nor so blithely ignore the pertinent facts to achieve a judicial result. I respectfully dissent.

Section 22 provides: “No act committed by a person while in a state of voluntary intoxication is less criminal by reason of his having been in such condition. But whenever the actual existence of any particular purpose, motive, or intent is a necessary element to constitute any particular species or degree of crime, the jury may take into consideration the fact that the accused was intoxicated at the time, in determining the purpose, motive, or intent with which he committed the act." (Italics added.)