People v. Nelson, 51 Cal. 4th 198

Background

Nelson was convicted of first degree murder, robbery, and attempted carjacking of Richard Dunbar, and of robbery, inflicting great bodily injury, and attempted murder of Miguel Cortez; a special circumstance found the Dunbar murder committed in the course of the other felonies; he was also convicted of attempting to murder Officers Charles Coleman and Giovanni Boccanfuso and a third victim named John Doe, with the Boccanfuso and Coleman officers being peace officers engaged in their duties; he was sentenced to death.
Guilt phase evidence included eyewitness identification by Christie Hervey linking Nelson to the Dunbar murder, a security guard’s observation of a gunman, and ballistics tying the same .380 pistol to multiple shootings, along with defendant’s admissions to Glenn Johnson tying him to the killing.
Defendant’s statements to a convicted bank robber, Leonard Washington, placed him at shootings and robberies; a pistol allegedly linked to those crimes was found on the scene and later tied by ballistics to the Dunbar and Cortez shootings.
Cortez identified Nelson as his attacker after being shot four times, and ballistics tied the Cortez pistol to the Glasgow Place gun Nelson dropped; witness testimony and ballistics connected multiple offenses.
Evidence in the penalty phase included victim impact testimony, testimony about Nelson’s other violent crimes (La Pierre, two bank robberies), and defense witnesses detailing a history of abuse; the defense psychologist diagnosed antisocial personality disorder.
The penalty phase also included admission of Nelson’s rap lyrics as aggravating evidence (challenged on procedural grounds), and the court admitted the lyrics after weighing probative value against prejudice; the court ultimately upheld the death sentence.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Evidence sufficiency for Dunbar crimes and special circumstance	People asserts substantial evidence supports guilt and the special circumstance.	Nelson argues the evidence is insufficient to prove all elements beyond a reasonable doubt.	Sufficient evidence supports guilt and the special circumstance.
Sufficiency for attempted murder of John Doe (Doe incident) and related premeditation	People contends sufficient evidence shows intent to kill Doe and premeditation.	Nelson argues evidence fails to prove intent to kill Doe or premeditation.	Evidence supports attempted murder of Doe and its premeditation.
Admission of defendant's rap lyrics as aggravating evidence	People argues lyrics relate to circumstances of the crime and state of mind.	Nelson maintains lyrics are nonstatutory and prejudicial; improper aggravation.	Any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Penalty phase voir dire and jury instructions regarding aggravation/mitigation	Pattern instructions adequately informed jury and shorthand colloquy did not mislead.	Shorthand questions misstate mitigating considerations and required unanimity clarifications.	Voir dire and instructions were proper; no reversible error.
Accomplice corroboration in penalty phase	Corroboration of Washington’s testimony about bank robberies suffices.	Corroboration was inadequate or improperly relied on for penalty phase.	Corroboration was adequate and permissible in penalty phase.

Key Cases Cited

People v. Maury, 30 Cal.4th 342 (2003) (substantial evidence may support robbery-murder special finding)
People v. Ervine, 47 Cal.4th 745 (2009) (sufficiency of evidence for attempted murder in similar context)
People v. D'Arcy, 48 Cal.4th 257 (2010) (capital punishment framework; insists on proper application of Apprendi/Ring principles)
People v. Birks, 19 Cal.4th 108 (1998) (related-offense instructions; Birks rule on lesser related offenses)
People v. Bramit, 46 Cal.4th 1221 (2009) (upholding standard penalty phase instructions)
Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991) (victim impact evidence limits under federal constitution)