Banks and Clark Analysis in Unarmed Assault, Robbery

The plan then went forward. Scoggins’ girlfriend arranged for a meeting with Wilson to buy a TV. Wilson and she then agreed upon a place to meet and, as according to plan, once Wilson was there, two of Scoggins’ friends, Powell and Howard, jumped out of the van to beat up Wilson. As they did so, Powell pulled out a gun and fired several shots at Wilson. When Wilson tried to run away, Powell fired a few more shots at Wilson, killing him.

After this, Scoggins went to the crime scene and walked over to Wilson to see if he was still alive. Police arrived and interviewed Wilson, describing him as cooperative. However, he was arrested and eventually convicted of first-degree murder and attempted robbery.

Scoggins filed two petitions for writ of habeas corpus, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence for the special circumstance finding, that were denied. Banks and Clark were then decided and Scoggins filed a third such petition. The Third Appellate District denied it and Scoggins appealed to the California Supreme Court, which granted review.

Justice Liu issued the California Supreme Court’s ruling. He explained that nothing from Banks or Clark supported a finding that Scoggins acted with reckless indifference to human life.

The Supreme Court began its analysis by acknowledging U.S. Supreme Court law that characterized reckless indifference to human life implying that one “knowingly engages in activities known to carry a grave risk of death.” Tison v Arizona (1987) 481 U.S. 137, 157. Examples include “the person who tortures another not caring whether the victim lives or dies, or the robber who shoots someone in the course of the robbery, utterly indifferent to the fact that the desire to rob may have the unintended consequence of killing the victim as well as taking the victim’s property.” Id. Reckless indifference “encompasses a willingness to kill (or assist another in killing) to achieve a distinct aim, even if the defendant does not specifically desire that death as the outcome of his actions.” Clark, supra, at 617.

In evaluating Scoggins’ conduct, the Supreme Court looked at the totality of the circumstances to determine whether he acted with reckless indifference to human life. Relevant factors are whether he knew a gun would be used. How many weapons were ultimately used? Was defendant physically present at the crime? Did he or she have the opportunity to restrain the crime or aid the victim? What was the duration of the interaction between the perpetrators of the felony and the victims? What was defendant’s knowledge of the propensity for violence of his or her confederate or likelihood of using physical force? Banks, at 803.

In considering all these factors and issues, the Supreme Court ruled that the special circumstances be reversed and the matter remanded. This should mean that Scoggins should be resentenced to second-degree murder or even voluntary manslaughter with a correspondingly shorter sentence.

The citation for the California Supreme Court ruling discussed above is In re Willie Scoggins (2020) 9 Cal. 5th 667, 264 Cal. Rptr. 3d 804, 467 P. 3d 198.

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