People v. Miles

Citations

• 55 Cal. 207

Syllabus

<p>Murder—Instruction — Definition.— Upon the trial of an indictment for murder, the Court, in effect, instructed the jury that if the deceased was shot by the defendant from behind, and that the defendant at the time of the shooting was concealed behind a fence, and that there were no words, demonstrations, or hostile acts, at that immediate time, on the part of the deceased, and that the deceased was unconscious that the defendant was so concealed until he was shot, the defendant was guilty of murder. Held, that the instruction was erroneous.</p> <p>Id.—Id.—Id.—Lying in Wait. — The term “ concealed” is not synonymous with “ lying in wait.” If a person conceals himself for the purpose of shooting another unawares, he is lying in wait; hut a person may, while concealed, shoot another without committing the crime of murder.</p> <p>Id.—Id.—Self-defense.—When a man exercises his right of self-defense, he must be understood to act on the facts as they appear to him; and if, without fault or carelessness, he is misled concerning them, and defends himself correctly according to what he supposes the facts to be, he is justifiable, though the facts are in truth otherwise, and he really has no occasion for the extreme measure.</p>