California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Vu Thanh Van Le, G042343, No. 08WF2205 (Cal. App. 2010):
Section 186.22, subdivision (a) punishes a "person who actively participates in any criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang...." The offense has three elements: "Active participation in a criminal street gang, in the sense of participation that is more than nominal or passive,... 'knowledge that [the gang's] members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, ' and... 'willfully promot[ing], further[ing], or assist[ing] in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang.' [Citation.]" (People v. Lamas (2007) 42 Cal.4th 516, 523.) Defendant contests the sufficiency of the evidence as to each element.
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