California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Pollock, 13 Cal.Rptr.3d 34, 32 Cal.4th 1153, 89 P.3d 353 (Cal. 2004):
Defendant asserts that these instructions were erroneous in stating or implying that the only specific intents required for felony murder in the commission of robbery or burglary were the specific intents required for the commission of the underlying felony of robbery or burglary. As defendant points out, this court has stated that the mental state required for felony murder is "simply the specific intent to commit the underlying felony." (People v. Hart (1999) 20 Cal.4th 546, 608, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 132, 976 P.2d 683.) Defendant argues that a specific intent to commit the underlying felony means a specific intent to commit the crime as a whole or a specific intent to commit each element of the underlying felony, and not merely the specific intent, if any, that is required for the commission of the underlying felony.
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