Supreme Court of California

Conviction for first degree murder and sentence of death in the case of Polly Klaas is affirmed where: 1) trial court did not abuse its discretion when it transferred the case to Santa Clara County, and properly denied defendant's motions for a second change of venue; 2) the court did not err in denying defendant's Wheeler/Batson motion regarding challenges during jury selection; 3) the court properly admitted custodial statements and confession made by defendant as they were not obtained in violation of his rights under Miranda or the Constitution; 4) trial court did not err in admitting evidence of defendant's prior bad acts as they were evidence of intent, common scheme or plan, and motive; 5) the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction for attempting to commit a lewd or lascivious act and the robbery-murder special-circumstance conviction; and 6) the record did not support defendant's various other claims of evidentiary and instructional errors. Trial court did not err in its various rulings during the penalty phase, and California's death penalty law is not unconstitutional.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/01/2009
• Published 06/01/2009

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Phillip H. Cherney, Visalia, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant., Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson and Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Gerald A. Engler and Ronald S. Matthias, Assistant Attorneys General, and Bruce Ortega, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.