People v. Hansen

Opinion

GEORGE, J.

In this case we must determine whether the offense of discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling house (Pen. Code, § 246)1 is a felony “inherently dangerous to human life” for purposes of the second degree felony-murder doctrine, and, if so, whether that doctrine nonetheless is inapplicable in the present case under the so-called “merger” doctrine applied in People v. Ireland (1969) 70 Cal.2d 522 [75 Cal.Rptr. 188, 450 P.2d 580, 40 A.L.R.3d 1323] and its progeny. For the reasons explained hereafter, we conclude that this offense, for such purposes, is a felony inherently…