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People v. Mayfield1/2/1997
opinion on whether Sergeant Wolfley's fatal wound could have been inflicted in the manner described by defendant in his trial testimony without leaving tattooing or stippling around the wound. As Dr. Root explained, the answer to this question required knowledge of whether it was anatomically and physically possible for a person of Sergeant Wolfley's size to have held the gun in both hands pointed at his own face with the distance between the gun's muzzle and the site of the wound greater than the gunpowder range specified in the hypothetical question. This is a matter that is sufficiently beyond common experience that the opinion of a qualified expert could assist the trier of fact. A medical expert generally may give an opinion as to "the ability or inability of a person to do certain acts." ( Bates v. Newman (1953) 121 Cal. App. 2d 800, 803 [264 P.2d 197].) A forensic pathologist who has performed an autopsy is generally permitted to offer an expert opinion not only as to the cause and time of death but also as to circumstances under which the fatal injury could or could not have been inflicted. (See, e.g., People v. Cole, (supra) , 47 Cal. 2d 99, 104-106 [fatal wound not self-inflicted]; People v. Obie (1974) 41 Cal. App. 3d 744, 756-757 [116 Cal. Rptr. 283] [fatal injuries caused not by auto accident but by repeated blows from blunt instrument].) That is what Dr. Root did here.
Although defendant argues to the contrary, Dr. Root did not give a legally prohibited opinion (see People v. Farley (1899) 124 Cal. 594, 595 [57 P. 571]) on what positions Sergeant Wolfley and defendant were in when the fatal shot was fired. As Dr. Root explained in his testimony during the prosecution's case-in-chief, the information he learned from the autopsy of Sergeant Wolfley was not sufficient to permit him to give an opinion fixing the relative positions of Sergeant Wolfley and defendant when the fatal wound was inflicted, but it was sufficient to support an opinion eliminating certain positions from the realm of possibility. There is no rule of law prohibiting such testimony. (See People v. Cole, (supra) , 47 Cal. 2d 99, 105-106.)
K. Sufficiency of the Evidence to Prove Premeditation and Deliberation
Defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation to support his conviction for the first degree murder of Sergeant Wolfley.
When considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction, "the court must review the whole record in the light most favorable to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses substantial evidence--that is, evidence which is reasonable, credible, and of solid value--such that a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." ( People v. Johnson (1980) 26 Cal. 3d 557, 578 [162 Cal. Rptr. 431, 606 P.2d 738, 16 A.L.R.4th 1255]; see also Jackson v. Virginia (1979) 443 U.S. 307, 319-320 [61 L. Ed. 2d 560, 572-574, 99 S. Ct. 2781].)
In this context, "premeditated" means "considered beforehand," and "deliberate" means "formed or arrived at or determined upon as a result of careful thought and weighing of considerations for and against the proposed course of action." (CALJIC No. 8.20 (5th ed. 1988), quoted with approval in People v. Perez (1992) 2 Cal. 4th 1117, 1123 [9 Cal. Rptr. 2d 577, 831 P.2d 1159].) The process of premeditation and deliberation does not require any extended period of time. "The true test is not the duration of time as much as it is the extent of the reflection. Thoughts may follow each other with great rapidity and cold, calculated judgment may be arrived at quickly . . . ." ( People v. Thomas (1945) 25 Cal. 2d 880
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