People v. Franklin

Citations

• 70 Cal. 641
• 11 P. 797
• 1886 Cal. LEXIS 866

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Assault with Deadly Weapon with Intent to Murder — Conviction for Lesser Offense—Instruction. — In. a prosecution for an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to murder, the omission of the court to instruct the jury as to its power to convict for a lesser crime necessarily included in the charge is not error, if the evidence would not warrant a conviction for the lesser crime, or if a request for such an instruction was not made by the defendant.</p> <p>Id. —Evidence of Drunkenness—Admissibility of—Must be Received with Caution. —In such a case, evidence of the drunkenness of the defendant must be received by the jury with great caution, and can be considered by them only for the purpose of determining the degree of the crime by showing that his mental condition at the time of the assault incapacitated him from deliberately forming an intention to murder; but it cannot be considered in determining whether he committed an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to inflict great bodily harm.</p> <p>Id. — Deadly Weapon Defined. — A deadly weapon is one likely to produce great bodily harm. A knife may be such a weapon.</p>