Watson

In People v. Watson (1981) 30 Cal.3d 290 [ 179 Cal.Rptr. 43 , 637 P.2d 279 ], the California Supreme Court held for the first time that second degree murder may be charged when the facts surrounding a vehicular homicide support a finding of implied malice. The court consequently reversed the order of the trial court dismissing the murder counts. This appeal arises out of Watson’s subsequent trial for murder.

At trial, a jury found defendant guilty of two counts of second degree murder (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a); 189; all further statutory references are to sections of the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated) and one count of felony driving while intoxicated resulting in bodily injury to another (former Veh. Code, § 23101, subd. (a); now Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)). In respect to the charged homicides, the information alleged two counts of murder; neither vehicular manslaughter nor any other lesser offense was charged. Defendant moved for a new trial on the ground, among others, that the murder verdicts were contrary to the evidence (§ 1181, subd. 6). The trial court denied a new trial but modified the murder verdicts by reducing them to convictions of the lesser…