The California Supreme Court and the Felony Murder Rule: A Sisyphean Challenge
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THE CALIFORNIA
SUPREME COURT AND THE
FELONY MURDER RULE:
A Sisyphean Challenge?
MIGUEL A. MPNDEZ*
INTRODUCTION
T his article examines the California Supreme Court's major encoun-
ters with the felony murder rule. In its unvarnished version, this rule
allows a prosecutor to convict a defendant of murder without having to
prove the mental states of murder as defined in the California Penal Code.
The prosecutor, however, must prove that the homicide occurred during
the commission or attempted commission of a felony. As will be explained,
under California law the homicide will constitute first degree murder if the
felony underlying the homicide is among the felonies enumerated in Sec-
tion 189 of the Penal Code.' It will constitute second degree murder if the
underlying felony is not among those felonies.
To appreciate the effects of the felony murder rule, it is necessary to
understand how California law defines and punishes various homicides.
* Professor of Law and Martin Luther King. Jr. Scholar, UC Davis School of Law;
Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law, Emeritus, Stanford University. I want to thank my
colleagues, Floyd Feeney, Elizabeth Joh, Donna Shestowsky, and Robert Weisberg, for
their helpful comments. I alone, however, am responsible for any errors.
1 See CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE § 189 (West's 2010 Desktop Edition) [hereinafter
CAL. PENAL CODE].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/calegh5&div=14&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The California Supreme Court and the Felony Murder Rule: A Sisyphean Challenge
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