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California Court of Appeal Announces Term ‘Actual Killer’ in Revised Felony-Murder Statute Refers to Person Who ‘Personally Killed’ Victim, Not Necessarily Same as Person Who ‘Caused’ Death, for Resentencing Purposes Under § 1170.95
by Matt Clarke
The Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, held that the term “actual killer” as used in California Penal Code§ 189(e)(l) — as revised by Senate Bill 1437, which amended the felony-murder rule and natural and probable cause doctrine — means the person who …
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More from this issue:
- Government Snitches Rake in Millions as Their Testimony Is the Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Jacob Barrett, Dale Chappell
- California Court of Appeal Vacates Conviction Because Generic Immigration Consequences Warning Insufficient for Defendant to Understand Mandatory Immigration Consequences as a Result of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
- The FBI’s Gestapo Tactics: Hallmarks of an Authoritarian Regime, by John W. Whitehead, Nisha Whitehead
- California Court of Appeal: Defendant’s ‘Novel Interpretation’ of Pen. Code § 1203.01 Entitles Him to Have Trial Court Consider Motion to Correct Post-Judgment Record 40 Years After Conviction Final, by Douglas Ankney
- SCOTUS Announces Government Must Prove Physicians in § 841 Prosecutions ‘Knowingly and Intentionally’ Exceeded Their Authorization to Prescribe Controlled Substances, Such as Opioids, by Harold Hempstead
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Warrant to Search Cellphone Must Establish Nexus Between Device and Offense Beyond ‘Boilerplate’ Language About Cellphones Being Ubiquitous and Used in Crimes, by Anthony Accurso
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Medical ‘Rule-Out Questions’ Prior to Field Sobriety Test Are Interrogation Triggering Miranda Requirements, by Anthony Accurso
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders New Trial Because Detective Failed to Clarify Suspect’s Ambiguous Request for Counsel During Interrogation, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Circuit: New, Retroactive Supreme Court Decision Allowing SOS Habeas Petition Not New Enough to Avoid Procedural-Default Bar, by Dale Chappell
- SCOTUS: § 1983 Claim Cannot Be Based on Violation of Miranda Because Not Tantamount to Violation of Fifth Amendment, by Harold Hempstead
- Fifth Circuit: Officer’s Testimony About CI’s Controlled Buy That He Did Not Personally Witness Violates Confrontation Clause, by Mark Wilson
- SCOTUS Refuses to Extend Bivens Remedy to Either First Amendment Retaliation Claim or Fourth Amendment Excessive-Force Claim, by Dale Chappell
- Tech Giants Support Ban on Geofence and Reverse Keyword Warrants, by Anthony Accurso
- Seventh Circuit: Federal Habeas Corpus – AEDPA Time Limit Opens Door for Savings Clause Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Ohio Supreme Court: Amendment to Statute That Shifts Burden of Proof to State Regarding Self-Defense Applies to All Pending and New Trials After Effective Date, Regardless of When Alleged Crime Occurred, by Douglas Ankney
- New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Judicial Misconduct May Bar Retrial Under Double Jeopardy Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
- USSC Report Highlights Problems with Sentencing in Child Porn Cases, by Dale Chappell
- California Court of Appeal Announces Term ‘Actual Killer’ in Revised Felony-Murder Statute Refers to Person Who ‘Personally Killed’ Victim, Not Necessarily Same as Person Who ‘Caused’ Death, for Resentencing Purposes Under § 1170.95, by Matthew Clarke
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- FBI Phone Hack May Have Monitored Americans in Operation Trojan Shield, by Jayson Hawkins
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- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ends Mandatory Life Without Parole Sentence for Felony Murder, Sept. 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Murder/Felony Murder, Mandatory Minimum Sentence.
- California Supreme Court Announces § 189(e)(2) Requires Nonkiller to Aid the Actual Killer in the Lethal Act, Resolving Appellate Split, May 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Essential Elements of Crime, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Accessories and Accomplices.
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Unconstitutional Under State Constitution, Holding Article I, Section 13 Provides Broader Protections Than Eighth Amendment, April 1, 2026. Life without Parole (LWOP), Constitution, state, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Resentencing, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Adoption of Transferred Intent Self-Defense, Jan. 1, 2026. Murder/Felony Murder, Burden of Proof, Negligence/Reckless Endangerment.
- California Supreme Court Announces Pre-2009 Provocative Act Murder Convictions Are Not Categorically Ineligible for Resentencing Under § 1172.6, Dec. 15, 2025. Jury Instructions, Retroactivity, Murder/Felony Murder, Accessories and Accomplices.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentence ‘Has Not Been Imposed’ for Purposes of First Step Act Retroactivity Upon Resentencing When § 924(c) Offender Sentenced Prior to Act’s Enactment but Sentence Subsequently Vacated, Aug. 1, 2025. Retroactivity, First Step Act, Resentencing, Recidivist Enhancements, Stacking Mandatory Minimum Sentences.
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Misconstrued Elements of Implied Malice Theory of Provocative Act Murder Under Current Law and Reverses Denial of Petition for Resentencing, Aug. 1, 2025. Murder/Felony Murder, Resentencing, Failure to Prove.
- Florida Prisoner Returns to Custody After Overturned Conviction Reinstated, May 1, 2025. False Statements/Perjury, Resentencing, Witnesses - Prior Statements/Testimony, Effect of Vacatur, Brady/Giglio/Jencks Act Issues.
- Arkansas Supreme Court Rules § 16-93-609(b)(2)(B), Relating to Parole Eligibility for Residential Burglary Conviction, Applies Retroactively to Defendant, April 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Resentencing, Bank Fraud/Robbery/Theft, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Eligibility for Parole.
- Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence, April 1, 2025. Death Penalty/Death Row, Resentencing.





