Life in California

I thought I'd scoop my friend Jeff at SoCalLawBlog with this bit of wisdom from our Supreme Court here in California:

PEOPLE v. HOWARD, No S108353 (Cal. January 27, 2005)
The crime of driving with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property while fleeing from a pursuing police officer is not an inherently dangerous felony for purposes of the second-degree felony-murder rule.

I had a double take on that one, too. In case you don't believe it, yes, the word "not" is in there. So from here on out, everything less "inherently dangerous" than "driving with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property while fleeing from a pursuing police officer" will get you out of the second degree felony murder rule.

Demonstrating her usual sanity, my favorite Justice, Janice Rogers Brown, dissented.

You can view the opinion here.