(a) The Legislature finds and declares that all unlawful killings that are willful, deliberate, and premeditated and in which the victim was a peace officer, as defined in Section 830, who was killed while engaged in the performance of his or her duties, where the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, that the victim was a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, are considered murder of the first degree for all purposes, including the gravity of the offense and the support of the survivors.

(b) This section is declarative of existing law.

criminal case

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Terms Used In California Penal Code 189.1

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • peace officer: signify any one of the officers mentioned in Chapter 4. See California Penal Code 7

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 214, Sec. 2. (AB 1459) Effective January 1, 2018.)

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