State v. Maloney

416 P.2d 544, 101 Ariz. 111, 1966 Ariz. LEXIS 285
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 13, 1966
Docket1611
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 416 P.2d 544 (State v. Maloney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Maloney, 416 P.2d 544, 101 Ariz. 111, 1966 Ariz. LEXIS 285 (Ark. 1966).

Opinion

BERNSTEIN, Vice Chief Justice.

■ The defendant, appeals from a judgment of conviction on’ two counts of homicide entered by the Superior Court of Maricopa County. The facts and inferences most favorably supporting the verdict reveal that on September 19, 1964, two days before the homicides in question, the defendant, a 16-year-old boy, made plans to steal money from his step-father’s safe, take the father’s automobile and leave Phoenix. Two young friends, a boy and a girl, were supposed to leave with defendant. While plans were being discussed, defendant said he would “hog-tie” his parents to get the money but added he would have to be careful where he hit his mother because she had recently undergone brain surgery.

On the night of September 21st, after his parents went to bed, defendant attempted to open the step-father’s safe. Circumstantially, it appears that his step-father overheard him and entered the room whereupon defendant shot and killed him. Defendant’s mother entered the room, turned to flee, and was shot in the back. Defendant then hit her with a pistol fracturing her skull and next procured a butcher knife stabbing both his mother and step-father leaving the knife imbedded in his stepfather’s chest.

The defendant took the safe, his stepfather’s wallet and the automobile. He picked up his boy friend and, after an unsuccessful search for the girl, they started for Flagstaff where they were apprehended and returned to Phoenix.

At the trial, defendant’s boy friend and girl friend testified against him and the jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder in the death of his mother and second degree murder for his step-father’s death. This appeal followed.

The case must be remanded. The trial court did not rule on the voluntariness of defendant’s inculpatory statements which were admitted into evidence. State v. Owen, 96 Ariz. 274, 394 P.2d 206. The trial court conducted a hearing on the issue of voluntariness out of the presence of the jury, but reserved decision. The judge thereafter admitted the statements without having ruled on the matter. In State v. *113 Mileham, 100 Ariz. 402, 415 P.2d 104, decided by this court May 19, 1966, the trial judge held a hearing out of the presence of the jury to determine the voluntariness of a confession and, although the court did not rule on the question of voluntariness, it specifically overruled defendant’s objection to admissibility. Nevertheless, we remanded because the court had failed to make a definite determination as to voluntariness at the conclusion of the hearing on- that issue. The instant case requires no less.

We must next decide whether to grant a new trial or remand this case for a limited hearing on the issue of voluntariness. That determination rests upon the facts of each case. State v. Mileham, supra; State v. Simoneau, 98 Ariz. 2, 401 P.2d 404.

Defendant contends the trial court erred in instructing the jury as follows:

“Now, upon a trial for murder, the commission of a homicide by the defendant being proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the burden of proving circumstances of mitigation or circumstances that justify or excuse it devolves upon the defendant, unless the proof on the part of the prosecution tends to show that the crime committed only amounted to manslaughter or that the act was justifiable or excusable. Then the defendant is only required to produce such proof as will raise a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury whether the killing was justifiable or excusable and shall be entitled to acquittal.” (Emphasis provided)

The first sentence, except for the underlined portion, is the language of A.R.S. § 13-454. Defendant’s main attack upon the quoted instruction is that it is error to instruct the jury in the exact language of the statute. He cites People v. Valentine, 28 Cal.2d 121, 169 P.2d 1 which held that the California statute identical to § 13-454 could not be given in a jury instruction.

In every crime including homicide there must exist a joint union of act and intent and the intent is manifested by the circumstances connected with the offense. A.R.S. § 13-131. Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a person with malice aforethought. A.R.S. § 13-451. Malice is defined as an intent to kill without legal justification. State v. Schantz, 98 Ariz. 200, 403 P.2d 521.

Section 13-54 states in part that:

“Upon a trial for murder, the commission of the homicide by defendant being proved, the burden of proving circumstances of mitigation, or circumstances that justify or excuse it, devolves upon defendant, * *

The purpose of § 13-454 and its California counterpart from which we adopted our statute is to relieve the prosecution in murder cases of proving by specific, independent evidence the elements of malice and the intent to kill. Malice will be presumed from the proof of the homicide alone if the evidence adduced to establish the homicide shows neither -mitigation nor justification or excuse. Bennett v. State, 15 Ariz. 58, 136 P. 276. Furthermore, § 13-454 is based upon the common law doctrine that one is presumed to intend the reasonable and probable consequences of his act, and that, where the act is unlawful, the criminal intent is inferred. Anderson v. Territory, 9 Ariz. 50, 76 P. 636. California has held the same way as to both malice and criminal intent. People v. Campanella, 46 Cal. App.2d 697, 116 P.2d 633.

In other words, when the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the homicide, it has, by operation of § 13-454, automatically proved that the defendant acted intentionally and maliciously unless there is some evidence of mitigation, justification or excuse. Without any other proof the defendant would be guilty of second degree murder. State v. Singleton, 66 Ariz. 49, 182 P.2d 920; People v. Thomas, 25 Cal.2d 880, 156 P.2d 7. If the state also proves be *114 yond a reasonable doubt that the killing was wilful and deliberate and premeditated.' or occurred during the commission of cer- ■ tain felonies, the defendant would be guilty of first degree murder. But assuming the' absence of such evidence, it is clear that the defendant may be convicted of second degree murder unless he presents evidence of mitigation, justification or excuse sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to the existence of malice. Anderson v. Territory, supra. This does not mean that he must persuade the jury of his innocence because such an idea does violence to the presumption of innocence to which he is always entitled. A.R.S.

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Bluebook (online)
416 P.2d 544, 101 Ariz. 111, 1966 Ariz. LEXIS 285, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-maloney-ariz-1966.