Supreme Court of California

In an automatic appeal in a death penalty case, the conviction and sentence are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) denial of a Marsden motion; 2) dismissal of prospective juror following contact with a prosecution witness; 3) precluding cross-examination of victim's sister regarding a conversation with dismissed juror; 4) admission of a spontaneous statement of defendant's son; 5) a failure to instruct regarding evaluating child testimony; 6) seizure and admission of defendant's correspondence; 7) admission of testimony regarding defendant's gang affiliation and intent to kill; 8) defendant's alleged inability to fully testify; 9) trial court's alleged disparagement of defendant in front of the jury; 10) a failure to instruct regarding third party culpability; 11) a failure to instruct that manslaughter is a lesser included offense of murder; 12) exclusion of the victim's prior battery conviction; 13) cumulative guilt phase error; 14) a failure to instruct regarding unanimity on aggravating factors; 15) the overbreadth of the death penalty; and 16) additional claims of sentencing error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/19/2009
• Published 02/19/2009

Judges

• MORENO, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• H. Mitchell Caldwell, Malibu, under appointment 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 Robert C. Schneider, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.