In re LAIRD GENE STANKEWITZ on Habeas Corpus
Crim. No. 24137
Supreme Court of California
Nov. 25, 1985
391 | 40 Cal. 3d 391
Frank O. Bell, Jr., State Public Defender, Roy M. Dahlberg, Deputy State Public Defender, and Quin Denvir for Petitioner.
John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Michael D. Wellington and Robert M. Foster, Deputy Attorneys General, for Respondent.
OPINION
MOSK, J.—Petitioner Laird Gene Stankewitz seeks a writ of habeas corpus after he was convicted of first degree murder and robbery and sentenced to death. His automatic appeal from that judgment is pending in this court. (
The events leading to the judgment, insofar as relevant to this petition, are undisputed.
Petitioner was holed up in a cabin in a remote canyon. A few months earlier he had escaped from county jail, and was being actively sought by
Later, after petitioner had consumed some alcohol and smoked some marijuana, he pointed a gun at Whelan and Burrell and ordered them to hand over their wallets. They complied, and petitioner again leafed through the identification cards and money in each wallet. When Whelan said, “This is all the money we have for our trip. Why are you going to take it all?” petitioner replied, ”I am not going to take your money.” (Italics added.) He threw the wallets at their feet, and at his direction they picked them up. Petitioner, obviously concerned that his visitors were law enforcement officers, next made some remark about the two being “pigs” or working for “pigs,” and said: “Okay, you guys, I want some good answers and I want them fast. What are you doing up here? What are you really doing up here? No one comes up here for a vacation.” The two insisted they had indeed come for a vacation. Petitioner then suddenly shot Burrell; Whelan ran and escaped.
While preparing the automatic appeal, petitioner‘s appellate counsel fortuitously received information that led him to obtain declarations of Marian Sparks and James F. Barbieri, who had served as jurors in the case. Each declaration stated in substance as follows: on several occasions during the guilt phase deliberations Juror Louis Knapp advised the other jurors that he had been a police officer for over 20 years; that as a police officer he knew the law; that the law provides a robbery takes place as soon as a person forcibly takes personal property from another person, whether or not he intends to keep it; and that as soon as petitioner took the wallets at gunpoint in this case he committed robbery, whether or not he intended to keep them.
Petitioner now seeks a writ of habeas corpus, contending that he was denied a fair trial by reason of such juror misconduct.1
When extraneous law enters a jury room—i.e., a statement of law not given to the jury in the instructions of the court—the defendant is denied his constitutional right to a fair trial unless the People can prove that no actual prejudice resulted. (Noll v. Lee (1963) 221 Cal.App.2d 81, 87-94 [34 Cal.Rptr. 223]; accord, State v. Sinegal (La. 1981) 393 So.2d 684, 686-687; cf. Mattox v. United States (1892) 146 U.S. 140, 149-151 [36 L.Ed. 917, 920-921, 13 S.Ct. 50] [extraneous factual material].) This rule has special force in capital cases, in which “[i]t is vital . . . that the jury should pass upon the case free from external causes tending to disturb the exercise of deliberate and unbiased judgment.” (Id. at p. 149 [36 L.Ed. at p. 921].)
Although jury misconduct during deliberations is most often raised by motion for new trial and appeal (see, e.g., People v. Hutchinson (1969) 71 Cal.2d 342, 346 [78 Cal. Rptr. 196, 455 P.2d 132]), it may also be alleged as a ground of habeas corpus (see, e.g., In re Winchester (1960) 53 Cal.2d 528, 531-532 [2 Cal. Rptr. 296, 348 P.2d 904]). The threshold question is whether evidence of such misconduct may be received from the jurors themselves.
The Legislature has declared that evidence of certain facts is admissible to impeach a verdict: “Upon an inquiry as to the validity of a verdict, any otherwise admissible evidence may be received as to statements made, or conduct, conditions, or events occurring, either within or without the jury room, of such a character as is likely to have influenced the verdict improperly.” (
Among the overt acts that are admissible and to which jurors are competent to testify are statements. Section 1150, subdivision (a), expressly allows proof of “statements made . . . either within or without the jury room . . . .” In People v. Pierce (1979) 24 Cal.3d 199, 208 [155 Cal.Rptr. 657, 595 P.2d 91], we held that jurors may testify to such statements.
Although this evidence may be received, it must be admitted with caution. Statements have a greater tendency than nonverbal acts to implicate the reasoning processes of jurors—e.g., what the juror making the statement meant and what the juror hearing it understood. They are therefore more apt to be misused by counsel in an effort to improperly open such processes to scrutiny. But no such misuse is threatened when, as here, the very making of the statement sought to be admitted would itself constitute misconduct. Such an act is as much an objective fact as a juror‘s reading of a novel during the taking of testimony (Hasson v. Ford Motor Co. (1982) 32 Cal.3d 388, 410 [185 Cal.Rptr. 654, 650 P.2d 1171]), or a juror‘s consultation with an outside attorney for advice on the law applicable to the case (People v. Honeycutt (1977) 20 Cal.3d 150, 154-158 [141 Cal.Rptr. 698, 570 P.2d 1050]).2
We must next decide whether the statement of Juror Knapp related in the declarations constituted misconduct. (See, e.g., People v. Pierce,
In our system of justice it is the trial court that determines the law to be applied to the facts of the case, and the jury is “bound . . . to receive as law what is laid down as such by the court.” (
In Honeycutt we held it “egregious misconduct” for a juror, during deliberations, to consult an outside attorney on certain questions of law involved in the case, even though the advice the attorney gave was largely correct and the errant juror did not convey it to the other members of the panel. We explained, “Such conduct in clear violation of the trial court‘s admonitions interjects outside views into the jury room and creates a high potential for prejudice. . . . [W]e cannot condone a practice whereby a juror receives outside counseling relative to the applicable law, as to do so would subordinate the court‘s evaluation of the law to that of the juror‘s outside source and would be contrary to legislative directives that the court shall instruct on the applicable law (
Here Knapp likewise violated the court‘s instructions and “consulted” his own outside experience as a police officer on a question of law. Worse, the legal advice he gave himself was totally wrong. Had he merely kept his erroneous advice to himself, his conduct might be the type of subjective
The People do not dispute the fact that the Sparks and Barbieri declarations establish serious misconduct. Instead, they argue that subsequent declarations of the same jurors make it “absolutely clear that there was no misconduct.” The argument is unconvincing.
The People claim that three statements in the second Sparks declaration show no misconduct occurred. In her original declaration Sparks declared that during deliberations “juror Louis Knapp on several occasions stated to myself and the other jurors that he had been a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for over 20 years, and that based on his knowledge of the law as a police officer, the law is that a robbery takes place as soon as a person forcibly takes personal property from another person, regardless of whether he intends to return the personal effects to the person or whether he, in fact, returns them, and that as soon as Mr. Stankewitz took the wallets of Mr. Burrell and Mr. Whelan at gunpoint shortly before the shooting, Mr. Stankewitz was guilty of robbery even though he intended to return the wallets and even though he shortly thereafter threw the wallets on the ground and Mr. Burrell and Mr. Whelan recovered them.”
The first statement relied on in the subsequent Sparks declaration is as follows: “I was not trying to state by the matter included [in my original declaration], conclusively whether Mr. Knapp was either including or discarding the element of intent when he made those statements to the rest of the jury.” To the extent this ambiguous statement has any meaning at all, it apparently goes to what Knapp may have meant by his statements—certainly not to their contents; it is not inconsistent with, and hence does not affect, the clear testimony in each of the original declarations regarding what Knapp actually said to the other jurors. Moreover, insofar as it implicates “the subjective reasoning processes of the individual juror, which can be neither corroborated nor disproved” (People v. Hutchinson, supra, 71 Cal.2d at p. 349), it is inadmissible under
The second statement is as follows: “During deliberation among the jurors, prior to [Knapp‘s] statements, there was substantial discussion about
The third statement is as follows: “Juror Knapp adamantly expressed his opinion that the defendant, Laird Gene Stankewitz, formed the intent to steal from Mr. Burrell and Mr. Whelan at the beginning when he (Stankewitz) first confronted the subjects at the gate and observed the money in Burrell‘s wallet. He (Knapp) further expressed the opinion that everything that happened after that led the defendant (Stankewitz) down the path towards fulfilling his intention.” The People maintain this assertion establishes that Knapp‘s statements were made in a certain factual context. But the factual context is immaterial: what is material is that Knapp made the statements, and neither evidence nor argument is offered to show that he did not.
The People next contend that three statements in the second Barbieri declaration show no misconduct occurred. Again the argument is unconvincing.
In his original declaration, Barbieri stated that “Mr. Knapp, on several occasions, made statements to myself and the other jurors, to the effect that he had been a police officer in Los Angeles for over 20 years; that he had a special knowledge of criminal law; and that the law was that Mr. Stankewitz was guilty of robbery as soon as he took the wallets of Mr. Burrell and Mr. Whelan at gunpoint, and his returning the wallets was irrelevant.”
The first statement relied on in the subsequent Barbieri declaration is as follows: “Any impressions in my [original declaration] that indicate Mr. Knapp did not include intent as an element in the robbery are erroneous.” Like a similar statement in the second Sparks declaration, this statement is not inconsistent with the clear testimony in each of the original declarations as to what Knapp actually said to the other jurors, and to the extent it goes to what Knapp may have meant it is inadmissible under
The second statement is as follows: “Mr. Knapp gave the impression to me that if the intent to rob Mr. Burrell and Mr. Whelan was there, it did not matter if their wallets were returned or not returned by Mr. Stankewitz.” This statement, however, is not inconsistent with the clear testimony in each of the original declarations. But even if this evidence had some bearing on the issue before us, it would plainly be inadmissible under
The third statement is as follows: “In my [original declaration] . . . I did not make the statement, ‘that he (Mr. Knapp) had a special knowledge of criminal law.’ I referred to him, stating something to the effect that he was familiar with the law.” But the original declaration speaks for itself, and it states otherwise. And even if we were to interpret the quoted statement to mean that Barbieri has changed his testimony, nothing of consequence would result. Whether Knapp advised his fellow jurors that he had “a special knowledge of the criminal law” or merely was “familiar with the law,” the fact remains that in erroneously stating the law he vouched for its correctness on the strength of his long service as a police officer.
The misconduct of Juror Knapp raises a presumption of prejudice. (People v. Pierce, supra, 24 Cal.3d at p. 207; People v. Honeycutt, supra, 20 Cal.3d at p. 156.) Such a presumption is even stronger when, as here, the misconduct goes to a key issue in the case: the resolution of the question whether a robbery took place was critical to the prosecution‘s felony-murder theory, to the separate robbery count, and to the robbery special-circumstance allegation. (Cf. People v. Hogan (1982) 31 Cal.3d 815, 847 [183 Cal.Rptr. 817, 647 P.2d 93] [jury‘s consideration of inadmissible evidence establishing the defendant‘s reluctance to submit to a lie detector test in a case in which his truthfulness was the key issue].) Finally, “the presumption is even stronger in the context of a capital case.” (Id. at p. 848.)
It is settled that “unless the prosecution rebuts that presumption by proof that no prejudice actually resulted, the defendant is entitled to a new trial.” (People v. Pierce, supra, 24 Cal.3d at p. 207, and cases cited.) The People‘s only attempt to carry that heavy burden in this case is the assertion that “the presumption of prejudice is fully rebutted because both of the jurors make it clear that their decisions fully included a determination concerning petitioner‘s intent to rob.” The effort falls far short of the mark.
First, the argument is without evidentiary support. There is nothing in the second Barbieri declaration to support the claim. And what evidence there is in the second Sparks declaration—“I was not influenced by Juror Knapp in making my decision on how to vote in this matter“—is plainly inadmissible under
Second, even if each of the subsequent declarations could have established that Knapp‘s serious misconduct did not affect the deliberations of the declarant, no evidence has been offered, admissible or not, to rebut the pre-
The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted. The judgment of conviction is vacated and petitioner is remanded to the Superior Court of Inyo County. Upon finality, the clerk shall remit a certified copy of this opinion and order to the superior court for filing, and respondent shall serve another copy thereof on the prosecuting attorney in conformity with
Bird, C. J., Broussard, J., Reynoso, J., Grodin, J., and Kaus, J.,* concurred.
LUCAS, J.—I respectfully dissent.
Petitioner (defendant) Stankewitz committed his murder November 3, 1980. Jury trial commenced June 29, 1981, and the jury rendered its guilty verdict September 3, 1981. Subsequently, on September 15, the jury returned its penalty verdict sentencing defendant to death.
More than three years later, on November 2, 1984, defendant first raised the issue of possible jury misconduct occurring during the guilt phase deliberations. The majority, excusing the delay as neither presumptively unreasonable nor prejudicial to the prosecution, finds that defendant has proven that jury misconduct occurred, and that the People have failed to rebut the resulting presumption of prejudice to defendant. How, one might ask, were the People expected to rebut that presumption in light of (1) the passage of more than three years from the date of trial, and (2) the substantial evidentiary restrictions imposed by the majority?
The record indicates that defendant, through his appellate counsel, learned of the possible misconduct in March 1983, but nonetheless waited over 18 months before raising the issue. I submit that such inexcusable lack of dil-
*Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court sitting under assignment by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council.
Notwithstanding defendant‘s delay in raising the point, the People attempted to contest the assertion of jury misconduct by submitting more recent declarations by Jurors Sparks and Barbieri. These declarations recite, among other things, that Juror Knapp merely expressed his personal opinion that defendant had formed an intent to steal from the beginning, thereby making it immaterial that at one point he returned the victims’ wallets to them. These declarations contradicted these same jurors’ original statements, relied on by the majority, which had recited that Knapp had advised the jurors that a robbery occurs upon a forcible taking of property, regardless of the robber‘s intent to return that property.
The majority rules that the new declarations “implicate the reasoning processes” of Knapp and are accordingly inadmissible under
Second, there may exist constitutional objections to the restrictions placed upon the People in this and similar cases, especially in light of defendant‘s inexcusable delay in raising the juror misconduct issue. The majority finds that juror misconduct occurred and that it created a presumption of prejudice to defendant. Further, the majority holds that the presumption cannot be rebutted by declarations from jurors such as Mrs. Sparks attesting that the
In my view, if the jurors agree that supposed juror misconduct played no role in their decision, that fact should be admissible and the judgment affirmed despite the error. Indeed, how else are the People to rebut the presumption of prejudice? To the extent that section 1150 would require a different result, we should hold the section invalid.
I would deny the writ.
On January 16, 1986, the opinion was modified to read as printed above.