People v. Blair 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 “ ‘malice aforethought.’ ” (People v. Chun (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1172, 1181 (Chun), quoting section 187, subdivision (a).) Until recently, 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, supra, 45 Cal.4th at p. 1182.) Under a separate rule 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.) Senate Bill No. 1437 ((2017-2018 Reg. Sess.), Stats. 2018, ch. 1015), which became effective January 1, 2019, raised the level of culpability required for murder liability to be imposed under these theories. (See Stats. 2018, ch. 1015, § 1.) Senate Bill No. 1437 amended the definition of malice in section 188…