People v. James
Court of Appeal of California
74 Cal.Rptr.2d 7 (1998)
For a decade, Kathey James (defendant) manufactured methamphetamine in her mobile home using hazardous chemicals including Coleman fuel and red phosphorus, sometimes taking precautions like using a locked bathroom, but on the day in question was allegedly cooking meth on the kitchen stove (according to one child's testimony) when a fire caught, destroying the home and killing three of the four children living there; James denied the process had ever previously caused an incident and denied the chemicals posed a danger to household residents, though the vapors involved could be ignited by any heat source, including a hot plate or stove. She was convicted of second-degree murder, manufacturing meth, and conspiracy, with the jury's murder verdict expressly based on the second-degree felony-murder rule; she appealed.
Whether manufacturing methamphetamine, an activity involving volatile chemicals that can be ignited by ordinary heat sources like a stove, qualifies as an inherently dangerous felony sufficient to support a second-degree felony-murder conviction.