Case Brief

1. HaroldSowardsII
CJ 322, Tu/Th 9:30
11/2/15
People v. Allen
64 Cal. Rptr. 2d 497 (1997)
1. Facts
 Aug.7,1995 May SunYounggoestotake her 7 yr olddaughterKirstie tosummercamp
and stopsinher drivewaytoclose the garage door
 Tyrone Allenjumpsintothe vehicle andlocksthe doorwithKirstie still inthe vehicle
 Ms. SunYoungputshands intothe window andtriestoturn off the ignition
 Allenreleasesthe parkingbrake,goesinreverse andoutintothe streetuntil ithitsa
curb and comesto a stop (about30-40 ft)
 Allenexitsvehicle,throwsSunYoungagainstafence andstealsherpurse frominside the
vehicle
 Threatensa neighborwithagun
 ApprehendedbySanFranciscopolice
 ConvictedinSuperiorCourtandCo.of San Franciscoof kidnappingpersonunder14
 Appeals
 Court of Appealsaffirms
2. Issue
Was there insufficientevidence andinadequatejuryinstructionsregardingasportation?
3. Holdings
No,affirmed
4. Reasoning
While before 1981 actual distance wouldhave the only thinglookedatandof whichthis
movementof 30-40 didn’tmeetthe legal testof substantiality.Now however,caseshave to
considerthe qualityandcharacterof the movementinadditiontoactual movement.Because of
thischaracter issuesof the movement are takenintoaccount.ThismovementpreventedMs.
SunYoungfromregainingpossessionandhelpedfacilitate Allen’sflightfromthe areawith
Kirstie (evasionof capture).Inadditionthe vehicle wasmovedfromapositionof relativesafety
intoa thoroughfare because itplacedKirstieata greaterriskof injury.These factorsplusthe
distance traveledequalsthe substantial movementrequirementforthe crime of simple
kidnapping.