What's the difference? This is a good question because I have found myself over the last twenty-five years defending murder cases, arguing that this was a voluntary manslaughter situation instead of a murder situation.  A lot of times, you're talking about one big difference — the amount of time that a person is facing in custody if they get convicted of murder charges versus a voluntary manslaughter charge.

For voluntary manslaughter under California Penal Code 192(a), you're usually looking at a maximum of eleven years in prison, whereas, for the murder charge, under California Penal Code 187, you could be looking at twenty-five to life and never getting out of prison.  So, obviously, that's a huge difference, so you want to have an idea of what separates a murder charge from a voluntary manslaughter charge.

Plan to Kill Someone vs Heat of Passion

Obviously, in a murder case, usually, the type of evidence you're going to see is somebody planning to kill another person and then executing that plan and killing the person and having a motive to kill them. There's evidence that shows that the person may have waited for the person or devised some sort of scheme in order to be able to get in a position to murder the person.

Whereas, in a voluntary manslaughter situation, usually what you're going to see is what we call “a heat of passion killing.”  In other words, it's not necessarily a planned killing.  Maybe somebody walked in on their significant other having sex with another person and, in a rage, ended up killing another person. This 'heat of passion' is a legal term that refers to a state of intense emotional excitement that can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter.

Maybe somebody's on the road, and another person is involved in a road rage situation with them, and they end up killing that person.  These are all situations where there is at least an argument that it's a voluntary manslaughter situation versus a murder situation.

Factor of “Common Sense”

Common sense plays a significant role in these decisions. It's a fundamental aspect of criminal defense, making the legal system more accessible and understandable to the average person.

So, if somebody's in a rage, if their heat of passion has been aroused, and there's legally adequate provocation by the other party, that's where the defense attorney's role becomes crucial. They can successfully argue for a manslaughter charge, potentially saving the accused from a murder conviction.

But a lot of times, where the person falls short is, yes, they were angry; yes, there was heat of passion, but they really cannot legally say that the other party provoked them sufficiently in order to be able to avoid that murder conviction.

And again, where you're going to see what really separates voluntary manslaughter from murder is planning.  Whenever you see planning, a person is likely to have significant problems.  Anytime you see a circumstance where nobody would be provoked to kill another person, the person's got some problems.

If you or a loved one is facing a murder charge, it's vital to assess the situation. The potential consequences of inadequate legal counsel could be severe, potentially leading to a life sentence without parole. This is why it's crucial to seek professional help immediately.

It's crucial to consult an attorney with a proven track record in these cases.  Having seen the attorneys involved in these cases, I can assure you that not many have the experience or courage to handle a murder case.

I often handle murder cases where one attorney has conducted the preliminary hearing, and then the individuals come to me and request that I handle the trial. I asked why you weren't using the other attorney, and they said it was because the other attorney was scared and claimed he wasn't equipped to handle murder cases.

This is idiotic because they should have never taken the case in the first place, and they should have never done the preliminary hearing in a murder case because that is a very important hearing in which you can get a lot of good evidence.

So, they really do the clients a disservice if they haven't done a murder case. You're doing the preliminary hearing and then trying to jump ship because you realize that you're not qualified or experienced enough to do the murder case. A lot of people are scared to do the murder case because they realize that all of the marbles are on the line and the other person is looking for a significant period in custody.