Supreme Court of California

Conviction of a defendant for first degree murder of a police officer and a sentence of death are affirmed on automatic appeal over claims of error regarding: 1) trial court's exclusion of certain evidence including third party culpability and possible bias in key witness's testimony; 2) the sufficiency of the evidence to support the first degree murder verdict; 3) asserted Griffin error; 4) jury instruction on consciousness of guilt; 5) trial court's admission of victim impact evidence; 6) prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; 7) jury instruction on a juror's refusal to deliberate; 8) denial of defendant's automatic application for modification of the death verdict; 9) arbitrary imposition of the death penalty; 10) delay in the appointment of appellate counsel; 11) execution following lengthy confinement; and 12) constitutional challenges to California's death penalty statute.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/09/2010
• Published 08/09/2010

Judges

• WERDEGAR, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Susan K. Marr, Edmund G. Brown, Jr.