Supreme Court of California

A murder conviction and death sentence is affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) a failure to conduct a competency hearing; 2) joinder of counts; 3) defendant's absence from in-chambers hearings; 4) inadequacy of the record on appeal; 5) erroneous admission of evidence; 6) jury instructions; 7) the constitutionality of the death penalty statute; 8) an automatic motion to modify the verdict; 9) the constitutionality of the execution method; and 10) cumulative error and prejudice.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/21/2006
• Published 08/21/2006

Judges

• GEORGE, C.J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• A. J. Kutchins, Berkeley, under appointment by the Supreme Court;  Denise Anton;  Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin and Alan W. Sparer, San Francisco, for Defendant and Appellant., Daniel E. Lungren and Bill Lockyer, Attorneys General, George Williamson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Assistant Attorney General, Harry Joseph Colombo and George M. Hendrickson, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.