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Criminal Law Keyed to Kennedy
People v. Swain
Citation:
12 Cal.4th 593 (1996)Facts
On January 13, 1991, a van slowed down near a 15 year old boy. Several shots were fired from the front and back of the van. The boy was shot twice from behind and died.
The police recovered the van and found the defendant Swain’s fingerprints inside. They also found a gun that belong to defendant Chatman. Chatman told police that he and two other people, not including Swain, had driven the van to the crime scene in order to get revenge for a car theft by a rival gang. He insisted that Swain had not been inside of the van. However, while in jail, Swain supposedly boasted to jailmates about what good aim he had with a gun and that he had shot the boy.
The jury found the defendants guilty of conspiracy and murder. The jury also made a finding that the target offense of the conspiracy was an implied malice theory of murder. They appealed and the Court of Appeals affirmed.
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