Clendennin

People v. Clendennin

Good Law
1891 Cal. LEXIS 1045·91 Cal. 35·27 P. 418
Supreme Court of CaliforniaSeptember 3, 1891No. 20727California538 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Temple, J.

— The defendant was convicted of an assault with the intent to commit murder, and appeals from the judgment, without a statement or bill of exceptions. He objects to the refusal of the court to give certain instructions. As the evidence is not brought up, it would be enough to say that we cannot see that the *36 instructions refused were applicable to any matter before the jury; but it is not necessary to rest the decision upon that ground, for it is evident that there was no error.

The instructions asked read as follows: “While the law does not recognize as a defense an irresistible impulse to do an act of a criminal nature when the party doing the act is conscious of the nature and character of the act, and that it is wrongful and unlawful, yet, though the person accused may have felt an impulse to do the act while such consciousness existed, it is for the jury to determine whether such consciousness existed up to and at the time of the commission of the act, and if it did not so continue, it is their duty to acquit. You are further instructed that insanity as hereinbefore defined is a complete defense to all criminal acts committed while under its influence, whether such…

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