Background

• Price, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, was convicted of first-degree murders of Elizabeth Hickey and Richard Barnes with special-circumstance findings and death penalty; judgment affirmed on direct appeal.
• During habeas proceedings, Price alleged prosecutorial tampering with a sitting juror (Z.S.) by sending money and implying a guilty verdict after an encounter at Cafe Waterfront; an evidentiary reference hearing was ordered.
• Referee found, and the California Supreme Court adopted, that Ronald Bass and Geri Anne Johnson patronized Cafe Waterfront while Z.S. cooked there, but Bass did not send drinks or money to Z.S. and any remark to convey a guilty verdict was a joke.
• Witness testimony at the reference hearing included McConkey (bartender), Johnson (attorney), and Bass (prosecutor); other witnesses corroborated or challenged the various claimed actions.
• The referee concluded there was no substantial likelihood of prejudice; the court discharged the order to show cause and denied habeas relief on this claim.
• Price’s penalty-stage evidence and related conduct were not reopened; the court did not address non-tampering claims in this decision.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227 (U.S. Supreme Court 1954) (presumption of prejudice from juror contact; burden on government)
• In re Hamilton, 20 Cal.4th 273 (Cal. 1999) (presumption of prejudice; standard for remediation of juror contact)
• Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (U.S. Supreme Court 1982) (trial fairness focus; prosecutorial misconduct standards)
• In re Sassounian, 9 Cal.4th 535 (Cal. 1995) (initial habeas threshold and scope of review)
• In re Lawley, 42 Cal.4th 1231 (Cal. 2009) (credibility and factual findings in referee-based review)