v. Jackson
2020 CO 75 (2020)
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Rule of Law:
The doctrine of transferred intent is unnecessary and inapplicable in Colorado first degree murder cases because the state's murder statute broadly covers unintended victims. In a mistaken-identity murder, where the perpetrator kills the person at whom they aimed, there is only one victim, and convictions for both the murder of the actual victim and the attempted murder of the intended victim violate the Double Jeopardy Clauses.
Facts:
- Brandon Jackson was a member of the 'Sicc Made' gang, which was a rival to the 'Most Hated' gang, to which E.O. belonged.
- Following an attack on a Sicc Made member by E.O., Jackson and his fellow gang members met on December 25, 2011, to plan retaliation against E.O.
- The group knew E.O. drove a gold SUV and lived at a specific apartment complex.
- Jackson and his associates drove to E.O.'s apartment complex in two vehicles and waited in the parking lot for E.O. to arrive.
- Y.M., who was not affiliated with any gang, returned home to the same complex at 3 a.m. driving a gold SUV similar to E.O.'s.
- Mistaking Y.M. for E.O., one of Jackson's codefendants approached Y.M.'s vehicle and shot him twice in the head, killing him instantly.
- Upon realizing he had killed the wrong person, the shooter fired numerous shots into E.O.'s unoccupied apartment.
Procedural Posture:
- A grand jury indicted Brandon Jackson on charges including first degree murder of Y.M. and attempted first degree murder of E.O.
- At a trial in state court, the prosecution proceeded on a complicity theory of liability.
- The jury found Jackson guilty on all counts, including both first degree murder and attempted first degree murder.
- The trial court sentenced Jackson to consecutive prison terms for the two offenses.
- Jackson (appellant) appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court.
- The Court of Appeals held that the dual convictions violated double jeopardy, vacated the attempted murder conviction based on the doctrine of transferred intent, and affirmed the remainder of the judgment.
- The People (petitioner) successfully petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
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Issue:
Does convicting a defendant, as a complicitor, of both the first degree murder of an actual victim (Y.M.) and the attempted first degree murder of an intended victim (E.O.) violate the Double Jeopardy Clauses when the killing resulted from mistaken identity?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Samour
Yes. Convicting a defendant of both offenses violates the Double Jeopardy Clauses because, in a mistaken-identity killing, the attempted murder is a lesser included offense of the completed murder, as both offenses pertain to the same criminal conduct and the same single victim. The court disapproves of the transferred intent doctrine in first degree murder cases, finding it unnecessary because the Colorado murder statute's language ('causes the death of that person or of another person') already encompasses unintended victims. The court distinguished this 'mistaken-identity' case, which involves only one victim, from a 'bad-aim' case, which might involve two. Here, the shooter aimed at and intended to kill the person directly in front of him (Y.M.), regardless of his mistaken belief that the person was E.O. Therefore, the shooter attempted to kill the same person he actually killed, making the attempted murder and the completed murder factually indistinct offenses that merge for double jeopardy purposes.
Analysis:
This decision significantly clarifies Colorado's double jeopardy jurisprudence in homicide cases by formally rejecting the legal fiction of 'transferred intent.' By distinguishing between 'bad-aim' and 'mistaken-identity' scenarios, the court provides a clear analytical framework that focuses on the defendant's direct actions and intent toward the actual victim. This precedent prevents the state from stacking charges for both murder and attempted murder in mistaken-identity situations, thereby reinforcing double jeopardy protections and ensuring punishment is proportional to the singular criminal act against a single victim.
