Supreme Court of California

Conviction for attempted murder is affirmed and appeals court ruling reversed where a person who intends to kill can be guilty of attempted murder even if the person has no specific target in mind, as the mental state required for attempted murder is the intent to kill a human being, not a particular human being.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/23/2009
• Published 04/23/2009

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Linnea Johnson, Sacramento, and Patricia L. Watkins, under appointments by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, David A. Rhodes and Clayton S. Tanaka, Deputy Attorneys General;  Ronald L. Calhoun, District Attorney, Adam Nelson and Mitchell Keiter, Deputy District Attorneys, for Plaintiff and Respondent.