Legal Opinion
Kelly A. Depetris v. Lew Kuykendall James Gomez
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided January 26, 2001No. 99-56126PublishedCited by 71 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by Judge SILVERMAN; Concurrence and Dissent by Judge NOONAN.
SILVERMAN, Circuit Judge:
Petitioner Kelly DePetris shot and killed her husband Dana DePetris while he was asleep in bed. At trial, she claimed “imperfect self-defense” — that is, she claimed to have had an actual, honest belief that she was in imminent danger even if such a belief was objectively unreasonable. Under California law, imperfect self-defense *1059is not a complete defense to homicide; however, if established, it negates malice and reduces murder to voluntary manslaughter.
To prove her claim that she acted out of an…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Williams v. TaylorSupreme Court of the United States · 2000
- Brecht v. AbrahamsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1993
- Davis v. AlaskaSupreme Court of the United States · 1974
- Chambers v. MississippiSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Washington v. TexasSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by71 opinions
- Donald Eugene Lambert v. James Blodgett, Donald Eugene Lambert v. James BlodgettCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2004
- Potier v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2002
- Henley v. StateCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2016
- Sedley Alley v. Ricky BellCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2002
- William Harold Mancuso, Petitioner-Appellant-Cross-Appellee v. Ana M. Olivarez, Respondent-Appellee-Cross-AppellantCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2002
66 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.