People v. Souza, 54 Cal. 4th 90

Souza was convicted of three first-degree murders and two attempted murders, with a multiple-murder special-circumstance finding and a death sentence, plus firearm enhancements; restitution orders were later modified on appeal; automatic appeal filed.
Guilt phase evidence showed three victims shot with a rifle; eyewitnesses linked two Souza brothers to the crimes, while ballistic and scene evidence favored rifle over shotgun; identity of the actual shooter was contested.
Defense sought severance from codefendant Michael Souza; the trial court denied severance; joinder was deemed proper as joint charges concerned common crimes, events, and victims.
Penalty phase issues centered on juror selection for cause (death-penalty views), proposed lingering-doubt instructions, and later-correcting instructions and reliance on guilt-phase evidence; substantial evidence supported removing biased jurors.
The Court modified restitution orders (struck the $10,000 fine and certain reimbursements) and affirmed the judgment as modified; remanded for recalculation of restitution consistent with the 1993 crimes.
Conclusion: As modified, the judgment of death stands, with restitution recalculated; authoritative addresses for counsel listed in the opinion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Severance denied was proper	People argues joinder proper; no gross unfairness	Souza contends severance required due to antagonistic defenses	No abuse of discretion; joinder proper; no gross unfairness
Duty to instruct on voluntary manslaughter	Evidence supported heat of passion for some victims	Court should have given more or all voluntary manslaughter instructions	No error; substantial evidence did not support required instructions; second-degree and related guidance adequate
Biased composition of penalty jury	No due process violation from juror exclusions/inclusions	Systemic exclusion of death-scrupled jurors violated impartiality	No reversible error; substantial evidence supported excusals; some claims forfeited for failure to timely challenge Juror No.5
Lingering-doubt instruction at penalty	Instruction restricted lingering doubt to guilt	Lingering-doubt instruction inadequate	No error; instruction sufficiently conveyed mitigation and could cover lingering doubt across guilt and special circumstance
Restitution orders and ex post facto	Restitution as part of punishment; current law applies	restitution amounts exceed statutory limits at time of offense; ex post facto violation	Remand for recalculation; strike of $10,000 fine and certain amounts; revised restitution awarded

People v. Burney, 47 Cal.4th 203 (Cal. 2009) (joinder and severance guidelines; classic joint-trial analysis)
People v. Lewis, 43 Cal.4th 415 (Cal. 2008) (joinder favored when charges involve common events and victims)
People v. Avila, 38 Cal.4th 491 (Cal. 2006) (mandates on-the-record analysis of severance and confession issues)
Coffman v. Coffman, 34 Cal.4th 1 (Cal. 2004) (antagonistic defenses do not per se require severance)
People v. Keenan, 46 Cal.3d 478 (Cal. 1988) (standards for severance and joint trials)
People v. Moon, 37 Cal.4th 1 (Cal. 2005) (reinstatement of guilt-phase instructions in penalty phase; harmless-error analysis)
People v. Breverman, 19 Cal.4th 142 (Cal. 1998) (duty to instruct on lesser included offenses; substantial evidence standard)
People v. Harris, 37 Cal.4th 310 (Cal. 2005) (mitigation and victim impact considerations; framework for admissibility)
People v. Valencia, 43 Cal.4th 264 (Cal. 2008) (CALJIC 8.85 and weighing factors guidance; adequacy preserved)
People v. Verdugo, 50 Cal.4th 263 (Cal. 2010) (narrowing of death-penalty class and constitutional considerations)