People v. Saddozai CA1/5

BACKGROUND

A.

To be convicted of murder, a jury must ordinarily find that the defendant acted with the requisite mental state, known as

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1 “ ‘malice aforethought.’ ” (People v. Chun (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1172, 1181 (Chun), quoting § 187, subd. (a).) Prior to 2019, however, under an exception known as the natural and probable consequences doctrine, a “ ‘ “person who knowingly aids and abets [the] criminal conduct [of another person] is guilty of not only the intended crime . . . but also of any other crime the [other person] actually commits . . . that is a natural and probable consequence of the intended crime.” ’ ” (People v. Chiu (2014) 59 Cal.4th 155, 161; see also People v. Curiel (2023) 15 Cal.5th 433, 449 (Curiel).) In addition, the felony murder rule provided an exception that made “a killing while committing certain felonies murder without the necessity of further examining the defendant’s mental state.” (Chun, at p. 1182.)

In 2019, Senate Bill No. 1437 ((2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), Stats. 2018, ch. 1015) raised the level of culpability required for murder liability to be imposed under these theories. (See Stats. 2018,…