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21 Cal. 400

People v. Vance

California Supreme Court

Decided July 1, 1863

California Supreme Court · decided 1863-07-01

The indictment in this case accuses the defendant of the crime of “ murder in the first degree.” It does not in terms aver that the killing was “ with malice aforethought,” but charges that at a certain time and place the defendant did “ willfully, maliciously, feloniously, and premeditatedly kill and murder ” the deceased by shooting him with a pistol, giving with sufficient particularity the circumstances of the killing. To this indictment the defendant demurred.

Relies on Vermule v. Shaw · People v. Dolan

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1863-07-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently May 1972

10 state decisions

30186318701880189019001910192019301940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Field, C. J. delivered the opinion of the Court

¶1Cope, J. concurring.

¶2The indictment in this case is for the crime of murder. Two objections are urged to its sufficiency: first, that it designates the crime as murder in the first degree; and second, that it does not charge the commission of the offense with “ malice aforethought.” The first objection is answered by the case of People v. Dolan (9 Cal. 576). The second objection is met by the fact that words *403equivalent in their import to “ malice aforethought ” are used. The indictment alleges that the defendant committed the offense “willfully, maliciously, feloniously, and premeditatedly.” The statute declares that it is sufficient if it can be understood from the indictment, so far as the statement of the offense is concerned, “ that the act or omission charged as the offense is clearly and distinctly set forth in ordinary and concise language, without repetition, and in such manner as to enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended.” (Crim. Prac. Act, sec. 246.) So far as the motive actuating the accused is essential to the statement, there is no doubt that the terms used constitute a sufficient compliance with the statute. ( Commonwealth v. Chapman, 11 Cush. 422; Thompson v. The People, 3 Parker’s Crim. R. 208.)

¶3The objection to the manner and time in which the jurors were summoned is answered by the case of People v. Stewart (4 Cal. 218).

¶4The last objection of the appellant, that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, is without force. There was evidence both for and against the defendant, and in such cases we do not interfere with the province of the jury. There must be such overwhelming evidence against the verdict as to justify the inference that it was rendered under the influence of passion, or prejudice, or bias of some kind, to justify any interference on our part with the action of the jury.

¶5Judgment affirmed.

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