Supreme Court of California

In a death penalty case, defendant's conviction and sentence are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) defendant's legal representation; 2) jury selection; 3) admission of evidence; 4) an allegedly improper comment on defendant's failure to testify under Griffin; 5) jury instruction; 6) amendment of the information; 7) consideration of defendant's possession of handcuff keys during the penalty phase; 8) a refusal to admit evidence of the victim's opinion on the death penalty; 9) defendant's testimony at the penalty phase; 10) admission of taped statements by defendant to police; 11) a statement about a prior robbery; 12) the standard of proof for aggravating factors; and 13) denial of modification of the death sentence.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/24/2007
• Published 05/24/2007

Judges

• CORRIGAN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Roger Teich, San Francisco, and David Groom, Salem, OR, under appointments by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, Sharlene A. Honnaka and Zee Rodriguez, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.