Murder Defense Attorney in San Jose
Understanding California’s Murder and Homicide Categories
In the state of California, there are varying degrees of murder:
- First-degree murder involves intentional, premeditating killing. Common examples may include poisoning another someone, breaking into someone’s home and lying in wait to kill them, deliberately shooting someone, or intentionally running over someone with your car.
- Second-degree murder involves killing another person, without any planning or forethought, through an act intended to cause death or serious harm or an act that demonstrates extreme indifference to human life. Common examples of second-degree murder include impulsive killing, hitting someone over the head with a baseball bat, firing into a crowd, etc.
- Felony murder occurs when one person kills another in the course of committing another felonious crime, such as robbery, assault, burglary, etc. A person may be convicted of felony murder regardless of whether they intended or could have reasonably expected another person to die as a result of their involvement in the felony in question. Felony murder may apply to persons who did not directly cause the killing if those persons were major participants in the criminal effort or aided or abetted the killing in any way. Examples of felony murder may include waiting in a getaway car while a co-conspirator commits murder or running over another person while fleeing the scene of another felonious crime.
Call 408-998-1985 as soon as possible to schedule your consultation with an experienced murder defense attorney in San Jose.
