People v. Lynch

Citations

• 101 Cal. 229
• 35 P. 860
• 1894 Cal. LEXIS 1013

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Assault With Deadly Weapon—Instruction— Omission of Self-Defense.—An instruction to the jury upon the trial of a defendant charged with an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, to the effect that if they believed that the defendant committed the assault without malice aforethought their verdict should be guilty of an assault with a deadly weapon, is not erroneous because it fails to state that if the assault had been committed in necessary self-defense it was justified.</p> <p>Id.—Assault Exclusive of Self-Defense.—An assault is in itself unlawful. One person cannot assault another in self-defense; and any act done in self-defense cannot be an assault.</p> <p>Id.—Self- Defense—Fear of Bodily Injury—Instruction.—An instruction to the jury that the bare fear of the defendant that the prosecuting witness was going to inflict bodily injury upon him would not justify him in attempting to kill the prosecuting witness, if he did so attempt, but there must have been some act or acts on the part of the latter such as would induce an ordinarily prudent man to believe that he was in great and immediate danger of death or great bodily injury, is correct, and is not erroneous because it fails to say anything about threats.</p> <p>Id.—Threats by Person Assaulted.—Threats alone never justify a homicide, or an attempt to take life, though admissible in evidence to throw light on the circumstances surrounding the affray.</p> <p>In —Evidence—Explanation of Threat—Opinion of Defendant— Harmless Ruling.—Where the defendant testified that some days prior to the alleged assault the prosecuting witness said, “I’ll fix you,” and further testified that immediately prior to the affray the prosecuting witness, in a violent manner, said to him,. “I’ll kill you,” and made demonstrations as if to draw a weapon, the refusal of the court to allow him to testify as to what he thought was meant by the words, “I’ll fix you,” could not be prejudicial.</p> <p>Id.—Presence of