Supreme Court of California

The corpus delicti rule applies to unadjudicated crimes offered in aggravation at the penalty phase of a capital trial under current law. A conviction for first degree murder and death sentence is affirmed on automatic appeal over claims of error regarding: 1) prosecutorial misconduct; 2) exclusion of defense evidence; 3) jury instructions; 4) the sufficiency of the evidence; 5) the admission of preliminary hearing testimony; 6) the admission of hearsay evidence to prove corpus delicti; 7) admission of evidence of a photographic lineup; 8) admission of victim impact evidence; 9) limits on defense counsel's jury argument; 10) challenges to California's death penalty law; 11) international law; and 12) cumulative error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/14/2008
• Published 04/14/2008

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Michael J. Hersek, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Donald J. Ayoob, Chief Assistant State Public Defender, and Jamilla Moore, Deputy State Public Defender, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Holly D. Wilkens, Bradley A. Weinreb and Ivy B. Fitzpatrick, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.