"With the Intent to Inflict Such Injury": The Courts and the Legislature Create Confusion in California Penal Code Section 12022.7

Authors

Michael M. Blazina

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466

Document Type

Comments

Abstract

This Comment discusses California Penal Code Section 12022.7, which states in relevant part, "any person who, with the intent to inflict such injury, personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person… shall… be punished by an additional term of three years." The Comment addresses whether the specific or the general intent label applies to section 12022.7's mental element and what the mental element of section 12022.7 actually requires. The author suggests that California's doctrines of general and specific intent are complicated and difficult. Due to this difficulty, the author recommends that the legislature modify the language of section 12022.7's intent requirement. He concludes that section 12022.7 should instead ask whether the defendant intended the injury that resulted or whether the defendant intended to inflict additional harm beyond that inherent in the base crime.

Recommended Citation

Michael M. Blazina, "With the Intent to Inflict Such Injury": The Courts and the Legislature Create Confusion in California Penal Code Section 12022.7, 28 San Diego L. Rev. 963 (1991).
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol28/iss4/8