People v. Singh CA5

INTRODUCTION

Appellant and defendant Balwinder Singh argued with Surender Kumar (Surender)1 and stabbed him at least twice, including inflicting a chest wound that nicked an artery and caused extensive internal bleeding. Defendant was charged with attempted premeditated murder. At trial, there was evidence both men had been drinking. Surender testified that defendant stabbed him because he refused to make an insulting TikTok video with defendant. Defendant testified that Surender physically assaulted him, he pulled the knife in self-defense, and Surender was accidentally stabbed. The court granted defendant’s motion to instruct the jury that it could consider evidence of defendant’s alleged voluntary intoxication as to whether he had the specific intent to kill required for both the charged offense of attempted murder and the lesser included offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter. When the court read the instruction to the jury, however, it gave the voluntary intoxication instruction as it related to attempted murder but failed to include language that voluntary intoxication was also relevant for the specific intent required for attempted voluntary manslaughter. The court…