Supreme Court of California

A conviction and death sentence for defendant's murder of a nine year old girl in the course of committing a burglary and a robbery at her home is affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) an alleged failure to address an alleged conflict between defendant and counsel concerning her desire to enter a guilty plea; 2) a ruling that defendant's offer to plead guilty was inadmissible; 3) a failure to close the trial proceedings during defendant's testimony; 4) numerous alleged errors in the conduct of voir dire during the guilt phase of the trial and a penalty phase retrial; 5) a failure to substitute counsel after her first penalty phase trial ended in a mistrial; 6) denial of a motion for change of venue; 7) the prosecution's examination of defense expert witnesses; 8) admission of evidence of juvenile misconduct; 9) prosecutorial misconduct; 10) the constitutionality of the state's death penalty statute; 11) violations of international law; 12) denial of an automatic application for modification of the death verdict; and 13) a ruling on a motion for new trial.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/06/2007
• Published 08/06/2007

Judges

• GEORGE, C.J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Karen L. Snell and Nanci L. Clarence, under appointments by the Supreme Court, Clarence & Snell and Anne W. Lackey, San Francisco, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, David P. Druliner, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Laura Whitcomb Halgren and Kyle Niki Cox Shaffer, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.