Supreme Court of California

In an automatic appeal brought by an individual convicted and sentenced to death for murdering a police officer, the conviction and sentence are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) a denial of a continuance to prepare an Atkins defense; 2) Marsden error; 3) denial of defendant's request to represent himself; 4) prosecutorial misconduct; 5) evidence of other crimes; 6) lack of instruction to view defendant's admissions with caution; 7) considering the absence of mitigating factors as an aggravating factor; 8) denial of an automatic application to modify the verdict; 9) denial of his request to continue the sentencing hearing; 10) challenges to the death penalty statutes; and 11) cumulative error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/05/2009
• Published 02/05/2009

Judges

• MORENO, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Michael J. Hersek, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Jay Colangelo, Assistant State Public Defender, Mark Hammond and Craig Buckser, Deputy State Public Defenders, for Defendant and Appellant., Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Donald E. de Nicola, Deputy State Solicitor General, Mary Jo Graves, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, and Sharlene A. Honnaka, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.