People v. MilesPeople v. Miles
Justice Liu filed a dissenting opinion.
S086234
Opinion of the Court by Groban, J.
On March 17, 1999, a jury in San Bernardino County convicted defendant Johnny Duane Miles of burglary and first degree murder, first degree forcible rape, second degree robbery, and false imprisonment by violence of Nancy Willem. The jury found true the special circumstances that Willem was killed during the commission of the burglary, rape, and robbery (
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Guilt Phase
1. Prosecution Case
This case arises from three separate incidents occurring in February 1992: (1) the murder, rape, robbery, and false
a. Nancy Willem
On February 4, 1992, Nancy Willem did not come home from work at the Behavioral Health Services Clinic in Rialto. That evening, her roommate, Kristen Schutz, started calling the clinic, but the clinic‘s phone lines were busy. When Schutz was not able to reach Willem, Schutz drove to the clinic. After entering the building through an unlocked back door, she found the door to the clinic ajar.
As she entered the clinic, she saw the reception area had been ransacked. She followed the blood on the floor from the reception area into one of the offices. There, she found Willem‘s naked body between a couch and a coffee table. There was a telephone cord tied to her wrist and a sweater wrapped around her neck. There was also a handwritten note found on top of her abdomen that read: “Feed the poor. Down with the goverenment [sic].”
Schutz tried to call the police but realized that the telephone cords were missing. Once she reconnected one of the cords, she called 911. The police arrived and pronounced Willem dead on the scene. After securing the area and obtaining consent to search the clinic, the police collected blood and other bodily fluids from the reception area and office where Willem‘s body was found. The police also recorded a video depicting the crime scene, which was played for the jury.
Dr. Nenita Duazo subsequently performed the autopsy on Willem‘s body. Willem‘s injuries were extensive. She had multiple lacerations of her scalp and forehead, a fractured jaw, a missing tooth, redness in her vagina, and a circular area that appeared to be a cigarette burn on her chest. She had bruising of her face, chest, back, arms, and legs, which, according to Dr. Duazo, indicated that Willem was alive when her injuries were inflicted. Internally, Willem had eight broken ribs, a tear in her left lung, two lacerations of her liver, and hemorrhage in her brain. These injuries were likely caused by the application of substantial and multiple instances of force while Willem was still alive. Willem also had hemorrhage in her eyes and neck, as well as a broken bone and broken cartilage in her neck, all of which indicated that she was manually strangled before her death. Dr. Duazo testified that Willem was killed by a combination of blunt force injuries and manual strangulation.
i. Physical evidence
Several witnesses testified regarding the collection and analysis of blood and other bodily fluids found at the crime scene. In particular, two criminalists from the San Bernardino County Sheriff‘s Crime Laboratory, David Stockwell and Donald Jones, testified concerning their analysis.
Stockwell testified that he conducted a serological analysis on items recovered from the crime scene. He concluded that the nonvictim blood and semen from the crime scene came from an individual who was likely African-American and a type AB secretor, which he defined as someone whose blood type is secreted into other bodily fluids. He testified that the genetic markers found in the nonvictim blood and semen would be expected in approximately one in 333 million African-American
Next, Jones testified that he conducted a DNA analysis on the samples recovered from the crime scene. He concluded that defendant‘s DNA profile matched the DNA profile from the crime scene. He testified that the DNA profile from the crime scene would be expected in approximately one in 180 million African-Americans (or one in 280 million African-Americans using his lab‘s updated match criteria from around the time of the trial).
ii. Other evidence
On the night of Willem‘s death, her ATM card was used to withdraw $1,160 from an ATM in Pomona and another $300 from an ATM in Glendora. An employee from the bank‘s investigations unit testified that ATM surveillance photographs showed an individual wearing glasses and a “Red Dragon” hat at the time of the transaction in Glendora. The individual‘s features could not be discerned from the photographs.
A couple of months after Willem‘s death, the police briefly stopped an individual who identified himself as defendant and was walking no more than half of a mile from Willem‘s office. During the stop, the police documented that defendant was an African-American man who was 25 years old, six feet, six inches tall, and 210 pounds.
As to the handwritten note found at the crime scene, the prosecution offered testimony by expert Glen Owens. He examined the note found on Willem‘s body and certain inmate
An officer at the Rialto Police Department testified that during a search of defendant‘s car, the police found a note in it. That note read in part: “We‘ll be wiped out by the goverenment [sic].” The note contained a misspelling of the word government, which was similar to the misspelling in the note found on Willem‘s body.
b. Christine C.
Christine C. was working alone at the Desert Communities United Way office in Victorville on the evening of February 25, 1992 when a man forced his way into the office. Christine C. described the man as African-American, over six feet tall, in his twenties, and of “slim build.”2
The man was wearing a ski-type mask and holding a silver handgun. Pointing the gun at her, he demanded money. She gave him cash from her purse and said that the office had no other money. He then ordered her to lie down on the floor while he searched the office. Once he returned, he directed her into a conference room, tied her arms behind her back with a telephone cord, and took her jewelry. When she looked at him, he told her, “Don‘t look at me.” He also took an ATM card from her purse and asked her for the PIN, to which she said she did not know it.
After rummaging through the office, he returned to the conference room. He proceeded to pull up Christine C.‘s skirt and pull down her pantyhose, while she was lying on her stomach with her hands tied behind her back. He penetrated her vagina from behind, initially with his fingers and then with his penis. He ejaculated on her thighs and wiped her off with a tissue. He then tied her feet and hands together and tied her to the conference table with telephone cords, and he left the office. She untied herself and called 911. The police arrived on the scene, and she was taken to the hospital for a medical examination.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff‘s Crime Laboratory analyzed semen on tissues left at the crime scene. Criminalist Stockwell testified that based on his serological analysis, the semen profile from the Christine C. crime scene matched the profile from the Willem crime scene and additionally matched defendant‘s genetic markers. Criminalist Jones testified that the DNA found on the tissues also matched defendant‘s DNA profile and would be expected in approximately one in 180 million African-Americans.
c. Melvin Osburn & Carole D.
Therapist Melvin Osburn was in his office in San Bernardino on the evening of February 26, 1992 when a man later determined by the jury to be defendant entered the office wearing a ski mask and holding a silver handgun.3 Defendant demanded Osburn‘s wallet, threatening, “Don‘t look at me or I‘ll kill you.” After taking money from his wallet, defendant ordered
Osburn to lie down on the floor. Defendant then tied Osburn‘s hands and feet with telephone cords and proceeded to rummage around the office, repeatedly asking whether there was a safe. Defendant also forced Osburn‘s ring off his finger and asked Osburn about his ATM card, to which Osburn told him that there was no money on it. When it appeared defendant was getting ready to leave, Osburn‘s next client, Carole D., walked into the office.
She was met by defendant pointing a silver gun at her.4 He directed her into Osburn‘s office, where he ordered her to lie down and not look at him. He asked whether she had any money or an ATM card, to which she replied that she did not. He took her wedding ring and tied her up with her purse strap and telephone cords. Next, he pulled her pants and underwear down and penetrated her vagina from behind, initially with his fingers and then with his penis.
Taking Osburn‘s keys, defendant left the office and drove away in Osburn‘s car, with his cellphone. Osburn freed himself and Carole D., and because the telephone cords were torn, he triggered the burglar alarm and eventually used his next client‘s phone to call the police. The police arrived, and Carole D. was taken to the hospital for a medical examination. The examining nurse testified that Carole D. showed signs of sexual assault. The police later found Osburn‘s car abandoned in a nearby parking lot. His cellphone bill showed calls that he had not made.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff‘s Crime Laboratory analyzed semen found on Carole D.‘s underwear. Criminalist Stockwell testified that this sample contained less serological information than the samples obtained from the other two crime scenes, but that the detectable genetic markers from the sample matched the semen profiles from the Willem and Christine C. crime scenes. He testified that the detectable genetic markers from the sample also matched defendant‘s genetic markers. As to the DNA, criminalist Jones was able to form only a partial DNA profile based on the sample, but he testified that the partial DNA profile matched defendant‘s DNA and would be expected in approximately one in 920 African-Americans.
2. Defense Case
The defense called three witnesses. First, the defense called Dr. Thomas Rogers, a pathology expert, who testified that it was not possible to determine whether Willem‘s injuries were inflicted when she was conscious or unconscious or to determine from any autopsy whether a deceased individual was tortured. Second, the defense called Dr. Jonathan Koehler, a research methodology expert, who testified regarding errors and probability statistics in DNA analysis. For the third witness, the defense called one of the investigating detectives, Detective Chester Lore. He testified that the police did not recover stolen property, bloody clothing, or a “Red Dragon” hat (which the individual who used Willem‘s ATM card in Glendora appeared to be wearing) when they searched defendant‘s residences and vehicle. Nor did the police recover any fingerprints from the crime scenes that matched defendant‘s fingerprints. Detective Lore also testified that the police previously investigated someone other than defendant in connection with a “Red
B. Penalty Phase
After the jury returned its guilt phase verdicts, the trial court declared a doubt as to defendant‘s competency, suspended proceedings, and commenced a competency trial before a separate jury. (The evidence presented in the competency trial is described further below [see pt. IV., post].) Once defendant was found competent to stand trial, the trial proceeded to the penalty phase.
1. Prosecution Evidence
a. Defendant‘s criminal activity and prior convictions
The prosecution presented evidence in aggravation concerning defendant‘s unadjudicated criminal activity and prior criminal convictions.
i. January 6, 1992 incident
Paula Yenerall testified that she was working alone at an accounting firm in Rialto on the evening of January 6, 1992 when defendant broke the window and forced his way into the office. He was wearing a stocking cap, jacket, and gloves and appeared “very calm.” He pointed a chrome, semi-automatic gun at her and demanded money. When she told him that she had some money in her purse at her desk, he held the gun to her head and pulled her to her desk to retrieve the money. He repeatedly said, “Don‘t look at me, bitch,” and at one point said, “I‘m a murderer and I‘ll kill you, too.” After taking $1,200 from her, as well as two rings and a gold necklace, he tied her hands behind her back with a telephone cord. He then instructed her to stay put and left.
ii. January 21, 1992 incident
Janet Heynen testified regarding a January 21, 1992 incident in a psychologist‘s office in Upland. While she was working that evening, defendant appeared at the reception window. She described him as calm and wearing a brown beanie, jacket, and gloves. He pointed a chrome handgun at her face and demanded money. He told her not to look at him and appeared to be “pulling the [telephone] cords out.” After she gave him some cash, he briefly went into a back office for a couple of minutes and, once he returned, told her to not call the police and left.
iii. February 19, 1992 incident
John Kendrick testified about a February 19, 1992 incident in Ontario. That evening, he was working in his accounting office with his clients Paul and Mary Crawford, when defendant entered the office. Defendant appeared “[v]ery calm” and was wearing a gray stocking cap on his head. Pointing a small chrome handgun at Kendrick, defendant demanded money. Kendrick and the Crawfords gave defendant several hundred dollars in cash, while defendant repeatedly said, “Don‘t look at me, man.” Defendant then instructed them not to call the police for 30 minutes, and he left.
iv. February 21, 1992 incident
Arnold and Sharyn Andersen testified that they were working together in their insurance and investment office in San Bernardino on the evening of February 21, 1992.5 After they heard crashing and shattering sounds, defendant appeared
in the office, pointing a small chrome, automatic gun at them. Defendant appeared calm and was wearing a beanie. He demanded money and told the Andersens to lie down on the floor, repeatedly telling them not to look at him. He then took some cash from Arnold‘s wallet and Sharyn‘s purse and, after Arnold went into his office to look for more money, defendant took a money clip with approximately $1,200 from him. As he was leaving the office, defendant grabbed a bunch of Kleenex and dabbed his hands where he had cut them from breaking one of the windows to enter the office.
v. June 16, 1992 crimes
Bridget E. testified about defendant‘s June 16, 1992 crimes in Torrance. She was working at an appraisal office that evening with her boss, Steve H., when defendant entered the office and pointed a gun at them. Defendant was wearing a red bandana over his lower face. He demanded money, so Bridget E. gave him some money from her purse. He proceeded to search the office, asking for the location of a safe. He repeatedly said, “Don‘t look at me, man. Don‘t look at me, man.”
Next, defendant tied Steve H. with telephone cords and computer cords, unzipped Bridget E.‘s pants, and kicked Steve H. in the ribs a few times. Pointing the gun at Bridget E.‘s head, defendant ordered Bridget E. to orally copulate Steve H. She told him that she was pregnant and asked him not to hurt her, so “[h]e said, just do what I say and you won‘t get hurt — if you don‘t want to get hurt.” Bridget E. proceeded to orally copulate Steve H. She could not recall whether she was tied up at that time. Defendant then penetrated Bridget E.‘s vagina, initially with his fingers and then with his penis. Once he stopped, he told her to continue copulating Steve H. She recounted that her
vi. Defendant‘s other criminal convictions
At the prosecution‘s request, the trial court took judicial notice of 14 prior convictions, of which 13 were for first degree residential burglary and one was for second degree robbery.
b. Victim impact testimony
The prosecution‘s penalty phase evidence also included victim impact testimony from Nancy Willem‘s father, mother, and younger sister. The family members described Nancy‘s personality and interests, including her interest in singing and playing guitar. During her mother‘s testimony, the prosecution played a videotape for the jury depicting Nancy singing at her youngest sister‘s wedding a couple of years before her death. The family members further described how Nancy‘s death affected them as a family and as individuals. The prosecution also offered a photograph of Nancy, which, according to her father, resembled how she looked around the time of her death.
The prosecution additionally offered victim impact testimony from Bridget E. She testified that after the June 16, 1992 crimes, she was tested “right away” for any diseases, and she was diagnosed with and treated for chlamydia. She also stopped working and by the time of the trial, had not had the opportunity to “get back into” the appraisal business. She suffered from nightmares for “a long time” and became “more suspicious of people” and a “more serious person.”
2. Defense Evidence
a. Defendant‘s testimony
Against the advice of counsel, defendant testified during the penalty phase, largely in a narrative form. He began by describing a time when he approached two people who had supposedly killed his cousin and his neighbor. He explained that the man who had killed his neighbor told him to testify about “Wilhelmena‘s murder.” Defendant testified that by “Wilhelmena,” he meant Nancy Willem, and that Wilhelmena was “able to reveal the things that happened at the time of the crime.”
He then testified that ever since undergoing foot surgery when he was a teenager, he suffered from hallucinations and “ill angels,” which controlled his actions. He said that he suffered from these “ill angels” at the time of Willem‘s death. As to her death, he said that “[t]here was one rape” and a beating of her head with an object, but there was no strangulation. He said that after he took her money and bank information, he raped her because the voices in his head told him that she wanted it. He described that the voices then grew louder and, in order to stop them, he beat, kicked, and stomped her. The voices next took over the left side of his body, causing him to write the note, saying, “Wake up goverenment [sic].” He testified that since that night, “Wilhelmena” helped him to control the “ill angels” and intervened to “save the lives of other females that were involved in this case.”6
b. Evidence regarding defendant‘s mental health
Much of the defense‘s penalty phase evidence concerned defendant‘s mental health. Clinical psychologist Dr. Joseph Lantz testified that defendant‘s intelligence fell within the borderline range, between mental deficiency and low-average, and in his opinion, defendant suffered from schizophrenia. Psychiatrist Dr. Richard Dudley testified that in his opinion, defendant suffered from schizo-affective disorder, which he defined as a combination of schizophrenia and a mood disorder. He further testified that defendant suffered from cognitive deficits and problems related to an invasive mass, which was near his brain and removed after his arrest. A social worker also testified about defendant visiting a psychiatric clinic in 1992.
In addition, Dr. Joseph Wu testified regarding a positron emission tomography (PET) scan of defendant‘s brain, of which photographs and a video were displayed to the jury. Dr. Wu testified that while a PET scan cannot alone lead to a diagnosis, defendant‘s brain exhibited abnormalities consistent with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Dr. Ernie Meth testified regarding a SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) scan of defendant‘s brain, of which photographs and a video were likewise displayed to the jury. Dr. Meth testified that based on this scan, defendant‘s brain exhibited abnormalities that were consistent with the results of Dr. Wu‘s PET scan.
c. Other testimony
One of defendant‘s childhood friends, Dwayne Washington, described defendant as a “great kid” with a tough home life and a love for basketball. He testified that defendant became depressed during his teenage years after he underwent foot surgery and was no longer able to play basketball. He testified that on a few occasions around 1984 or 1985, defendant acted strangely and appeared to believe that people were trying to get him. Washington‘s mother, Sharon Mitchell, described defendant as a good kid with an “extremely negative” home life. She, too, recalled that defendant began suffering from headaches and memory lapses during his teenage years and recounted a few incidents in which defendant tried to hide under the table to prevent people from getting him. Washington‘s aunt, Serette Mitchell-Hughes, testified about one of those incidents as well. These witnesses also testified about defendant later getting married and having a daughter.
Defendant‘s former girlfriend, Terry Sylvester, testified that defendant lived with her and her three children around the late 1980‘s in Atlanta. She said that during that time, defendant worked and participated in family activities, but one day, he left for work and never returned. He later told her that he went back to California.
A retired correctional officer testified that should defendant be sentenced to life imprisonment, he could function within the constraints of the prison facilities and be safely imprisoned.
3. Prosecution‘s Rebuttal
In rebuttal, the prosecution offered testimony from two additional witnesses. First, Deputy Jonathan Billings testified
II. PRETRIAL ISSUES
A. Prosecutor‘s Use of Peremptory Challenges
Defendant contends that the prosecutor improperly exercised peremptory challenges to excuse two prospective jurors, who were African-American, in violation of Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79, 89 (Batson) and People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258, 276–277 (Wheeler). The prosecutor‘s exercise of these peremptory challenges, defendant argues, warrants close scrutiny because there are heightened concerns about racial discrimination in this case given that he was charged with raping and murdering a White woman. We will examine the prosecutor‘s exercise of the peremptory challenges in light of these and all other relevant circumstances.
1. Background
Jury selection for defendant‘s trial began on November 18, 1998. Following hardships and other dismissals, the remaining prospective jurors filled out a 31-page questionnaire. Based on the completed questionnaires, the parties questioned some of the prospective jurors on their views regarding the death penalty pursuant to People v. Hovey (1988) 44 Cal.3d 543. Once Hovey questioning concluded, and the trial court excused prospective jurors for cause or by stipulation, 72 prospective jurors remained. The trial court called the first 12 prospective
The parties then commenced general voir dire. After the defense challenged an African-American prospective juror for cause and that prospective juror was replaced, the prosecutor proceeded to exercise peremptory strikes against Malinda M. (a Hispanic woman), Kevin C. (an African-American man), Michelle G. (a White woman), Simeon G. (an African-American man), and Ronald W. (a White man). After the prosecutor twice passed on exercising any peremptory strikes and the defense exercised three peremptory strikes, the prosecutor next struck Isabella B. (an African-American woman).
At this time, the defense raised a Batson/Wheeler objection and moved to quash the panel. The defense noted that the prosecutor had used three of his six strikes up to that point on African-American prospective jurors. The trial court found that a prima facie case had been established. The court stated that it understood the basis for striking Isabella B. based on her answers during Hovey questioning, but asked the prosecutor to explain the basis for striking Kevin C. and Simeon G. After hearing the prosecutor‘s reasons, the court found, “As to [Kevin C.] and [Simeon G.], I think it‘s certainly not as obvious, but I cannot say it is not legitimate. [¶] So, at this point in time, I will make a finding that there have been valid reasons to justify excusing those three prospective jurors pursuant to a peremptory challenge.”
After the court denied the motion, the 12 prospective jurors seated in the jury box included nine White jurors, two Hispanic jurors, and one “American Indian / Caucasian” juror.
The prosecutor twice passed on exercising any peremptory strikes, and the defense exercised four peremptory strikes. The prosecutor then exercised a peremptory strike against Mary B. (an African-American woman). At this time, the defense renewed its Batson/Wheeler objection and motion to quash the panel, arguing that, although Mary B. expressed reservations about the death penalty, the prosecutor had exercised his peremptory strikes to compose an all-White jury panel. The trial court denied the motion, finding that Mary B.‘s reservations about the death penalty justified the strike.
After the prosecutor peremptorily struck Richard L. (a Hispanic man), and the defense exercised one more peremptory strike, the parties accepted the main jury panel. The panel included 10 White jurors, one Hispanic juror, and one “American Indian / Caucasian” juror. The trial court then proceeded to the selection of six alternate jurors. The prosecutor repeatedly declined to exercise any peremptory strikes, except to strike Lynia B. (a White woman). The sworn alternate jurors included one African-American and five White individuals. Before the penalty phase of the trial, the African-American alternate juror replaced an excused juror and served on the jury.
On appeal, defendant renews his challenge to the prosecutor‘s peremptory strikes of Kevin C. and Simeon G. from the main jury panel. Defendant states that he “is not challenging” the peremptory strikes of Isabella B. or Mary B. As we examine defendant‘s Batson/Wheeler arguments with regard to Kevin C. and Simeon G., we bear the above record in mind.
a. Prospective Juror Kevin C.
Kevin C., who was African-American, was 32 years old at the time of jury selection. He was divorced with three children and worked as a coach operator. He had previously served in the military and had previously applied, but had not been selected, for other law enforcement positions. His former spouse was a correctional officer.
In his questionnaire, he revealed a degree of skepticism regarding the criminal justice system. He believed that people accused of crimes were treated “leniently if you rich harshly if poor.” He previously served as an alternate juror in a criminal case involving murder charges, and when asked how his jury service experience affected his views on the court system, he said, “It let me know that no matter the crime or defendant the community selected [as jurors] is both white and blue collar workers.” He believed the biggest problem with the system was “racial coded prison[s] keep racism alive and create even larger bias.” And when asked whether he, any relative, or any close friend had ever been mistreated by a law enforcement officer, he checked “yes” and said, “pull[ed] over several times no good reason given no ticket given.”
Asked whether he was upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict, he checked “no” and commented, “To [sic] hard to believe one man did it all, I believe biases created a lot of the circumstance [sic] evidence.” Also regarding the Simpson case, he said, “watch[ed] several days of the O.J. Simpson trial taught me [a lot] about law” in response to whether he had read about, watched, or listened to any testimony regarding DNA evidence. Asked about his opinion on using DNA evidence in criminal
His questionnaire responses also suggested some hesitancy about the death penalty. Asked his opinion on it, he said, “there are members of society who do bad things and don[‘t] deserve to be here, can I kill them? unknown at this time.” Asked whether he had a moral, philosophical, or religious objection to the death penalty, he checked “yes,” commenting, “God should decide life or death, but some don‘t deserve[] life.” He identified himself as Christian and described his religion‘s view as “thou should not kill.” He said that he agreed with that view, although he added, “but if my child was being attack[ed] someone might die[].” As to whether he would vote to keep or abolish the death penalty, he said that he would not vote and remarked, “I like to decide who could stay in society but not decide who stays on earth (I‘d like to sleep).” He believed that the death penalty was unfair but admitted, “mainly because I don‘t know it completely.”
In spite of this, he said that his views on the death penalty had changed in the last 10 years, commenting, “at first against but now feel it is needed in special circumstances.” He identified himself as belonging to Group 3, which was defined as “I neither favor nor oppose the death penalty.” He said that his views on the death penalty were not such that he would never be able to personally vote for the death of the defendant under any circumstance. Nor would he be reluctant to vote for a sentence of death. But he said that he would be reluctant to sign the verdict form or state the verdict in court, commenting, “to look at someone not knowing why he did it would be hard.”
The prosecutor then defined aggravating and mitigating evidence and asked, “But you‘re going to hear, like you may hear some bad evidence, and you may hear some good evidence. But basically, if the bad outweighs the good -- ” Kevin C. responded, “If the bad outweighs the good, then I don‘t have a problem doing my job.” Asked “[w]hich means you could, you could vote for a death verdict,” Kevin C. responded, “Yeah.”
When the trial court subsequently called the first 12 prospective jurors, including Kevin C., to the jury box, the court and the parties asked a series of questions to the jurors as a
Following defendant‘s Batson/Wheeler objection, the prosecutor stated his reasons for striking Kevin C.: “[Kevin C.] in his questionnaire compared DNA to a polygraph. That it wasn‘t a for sure thing. His answers on the questionnaire regarding the death penalty were much more tentative. He indicated questions like he wants to decide who is in society, but not [who‘s] on earth. He was very skeptical of the O.J. Simpson case. He stated biases created the circumstantial evidence in the O.J. Simpson case. This is a DNA case very much like that. It‘s a circumstantial case. It‘s a DNA case. Those, those are the main concerns that I had.” The prosecutor added, “I think that in person his, his statements about the death penalty didn‘t rise to a level for cause; but, however, I think when you take the totality of his responses, I think, I mean those are essentially the reasons that I‘m stating.” The court found that the prosecutor‘s reasons for striking Kevin C. were legitimate and valid.
b. Prospective Juror Simeon G.
Simeon G. was an unmarried, 24-year-old African-American man with no children at the time of jury selection for defendant‘s trial. He worked as a forklift driver. He had previously considered working in law enforcement to help others, and his father worked for the DEA.
In his questionnaire, he described himself as a leader rather than a follower and remarked, “I like my opinion over other peoples [sic].” He said that he had not previously worked with a group of people to make a decision, although he believed “it would be very interesting” to work with other jurors to reach
He considered the biggest problems with the criminal justice system to be “A. The Court Backlog. B. Better ways of getting people through the judicial system.” He believed he could be a fair and impartial juror, stating, “I‘m open to objectively listening to evidence from both sides to decide a fair verdict.” He did not believe that testimony by law enforcement officers would be more truthful or accurate than testimony by civilians; he would not automatically accept the opinion of a psychiatrist or psychologist; and he could follow an instruction that if a defendant does not testify, jurors are not supposed to draw any conclusions from that fact.
Asked whether he could follow an instruction “that a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” he checked “yes” but commented, “If I have any feeling that he might not have done it, hes [sic] innocent.” In that response, it appears that he crossed out the word “doubt” and replaced it with the word “feeling.” Elsewhere, he indicated that he was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict (without providing any explanation); that people accused of crimes are treated fairly; and that he “really [didn‘t] know anything about” DNA evidence in criminal cases. He also favored the death penalty and said that he could vote for a death sentence.
During general voir dire, Simeon G. and two other prospective jurors did not arrive at the courthouse that morning, possibly due to a miscommunication. The defense insisted on
That afternoon, the prosecutor explained to the prospective jurors who were seated in the jury box, including Simeon G.: “[O]ne of the instructions you‘re going to get in the case has to do with, essentially, reasonable doubt. There will be a definition that you‘re going to get at the end of the case. It‘s basically a doubt based on reason. And the duty is that if the case has been proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt, your duty is to return a guilty verdict. There‘s [sic] also other principles that are, I don‘t know how deeply we touched on them in the questionnaire, but the presumption of innocence. Of course, everybody who is charged with a crime is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and that is in existence right now. [¶] The question is, is if it [sic] at the conclusion of the case if the case has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt whether we can expect everybody to come back with a guilty verdict.”
Immediately following this explanation, the prosecutor asked Simeon G., “[I]n your questionnaire you mentioned something -- and keep in mind I‘m not intending to, you know, embarrass anybody or anything like that. It‘s just, like I said, this is the only way we can get information quickly is to kind of be in a group at this point. [¶] You mentioned that if -- [Simeon
The prosecutor responded, “Well, I‘m not sure. I‘m trying to understand what you meant by that. You indicated that if you had a feeling that he might not be involved, then he would be not guilty?” Simeon G. replied, “Well, I think what I was trying to say, if I‘m correct, is that if the evidence showed that there wasn‘t -- that there was some reasonable doubt, then I probably would not accuse him, because of the fact that, myself being in the same situation or anybody, I think that if the evidence didn‘t totally prove that I did it, then there is some doubt. You know what I‘m saying?” The prosecutor said, “Okay.” Simeon G. added, “So it wasn‘t so much a feeling as it was if the evidence didn‘t show.” When the prosecutor sought to clarify the answer, asking, “Okay. So you would base it on evidence?” Simeon G. replied, “Basically, yes. I‘m sorry.” The prosecutor commented, “I wanted to make sure,” and Simeon G.
Following defendant‘s Batson/Wheeler objection, the prosecutor stated his reasons for striking Simeon G.: “[Simeon G.] made statements on his questionnaire how he likes his opinions over others. He did make a statement, although he explained it differently in court, he made a statement on his questionnaire basically saying if I have a feeling he didn‘t do it, he‘s not guilty. And he had crossed out the word doubt, which led me to believe that he certainly wasn‘t going to base it on evidence. [¶] And I, also, would note that this is an individual who the Court personally tracked down this morning. He didn‘t have -- he, unlike others in his group, didn‘t show up for court this morning. I would be concerned about his responses in light of the fact that he was, he was single-handedly hunted down to be here this afternoon. So, I‘m not sure that his responses in court should prevail over the answers he gave on his questionnaire. But certainly those statements on his questionnaire cause me some significant concerns.”
Seeking clarification, the court asked, “His answer being that if he had a feeling the defendant was not guilty, that was the answer that bothered you?” The prosecutor responded, “Yes, based on -- and he had crossed out the word doubt. And to me that made it sound like he was going to be basically basing it on a hunch, or a feeling, which was, as the presenter of evidence, I‘m powerless to overcome. And that was the main concern on that.” The prosecutor then added, “Also, he was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict. If you‘ll notice across the board, I‘ve excused jurors I believe of Hispanic origin and Caucasian origin, and the common denominator, essentially, is that they were not,
Following the prosecutor‘s reasons, defense counsel stated that Simeon G. misunderstood whether “he was supposed to be here today or tomorrow” and, once it was clarified, he appeared. Defense counsel continued, “[Simeon G.] checked on his questionnaire with regard to the death penalty that he‘s a Group 2, that he favors the death penalty, but would weigh and consider aggravating circumstances. [¶] He really doesn‘t give any answers that suggest that he couldn‘t be fair and impartial. He indicates that his father was a D.E.A. agent. [¶] With regard to DNA, he said he didn‘t know anything about it.”
The court responded, “Well, I understand that there‘s certainly not enough there to excuse him for cause, but that‘s not the test that I have to utilize in this situation. I have to determine whether or not there are valid, legitimate reasons for the District Attorney dismissing three of the four Blacks that were called to the box. [¶] As I indicated, as to [Isabella B.], I understand his concern there. As to [Kevin C.] and [Simeon G.], I think it‘s certainly not as obvious, but I cannot say it is not legitimate. [¶] So, at this point in time, I will make a finding that there have been valid reasons to justify excusing those three prospective jurors pursuant to a peremptory challenge. But I don‘t need to remind counsel that we‘re treading on thin ice in this area, and the consequences of falling through means we start all over again.”
a. Applicable law
The United States and California Constitutions prohibit the discriminatory use of peremptory challenges. (Batson, supra, 476 U.S. at p. 89; Wheeler, supra, 22 Cal.3d at pp. 276–277.) A three-step inquiry governs the analysis of Batson/Wheeler claims. “First, the defendant must make out a prima facie case ‘by showing that the totality of the relevant facts gives rise to an inference of discriminatory purpose.’ [Citation.] Second, once the defendant has made out a prima facie case, the ‘burden shifts to the State to explain adequately the racial exclusion’ by offering permissible race-neutral justifications for the strikes. [Citations.] Third, ‘[i]f a race-neutral explanation is tendered, the trial court must then decide . . . whether the opponent of the strike has proved purposeful racial discrimination.’ ” (Johnson v. California (2005) 545 U.S. 162, 168, fn. omitted.)
” ‘The proper focus of a Batson/Wheeler inquiry, of course, is on the subjective genuineness of the race-neutral reasons given for the peremptory challenge, not on the objective reasonableness of those reasons. . . . All that matters is that the prosecutor‘s reason for exercising the peremptory challenge is sincere and legitimate, legitimate in the sense of being nondiscriminatory.’ ” (People v. O‘Malley (2016) 62 Cal.4th 944, 975 (O‘Malley).) ” ‘At the third stage of the Wheeler/Batson inquiry, “the issue comes down to whether the trial court finds the prosecutor‘s race-neutral explanations to be credible. Credibility can be measured by, among other factors, the prosecutor‘s demeanor; by how reasonable, or how improbable, the explanations are; and by whether the proffered rationale has
” ’ ” ’ [T]he trial court is not required to make specific or detailed comments for the record to justify every instance in which a prosecutor‘s race-neutral reason for exercising a peremptory challenge is being accepted by the court as genuine.’ ” ’ ” (People v. Vines (2011) 51 Cal.4th 830, 848 (Vines).) However, ” ’ [w]hen the prosecutor‘s stated reasons are either unsupported by the record, inherently implausible, or both, more is required of the trial court than a global finding that the reasons appear sufficient.’ ” (People v. Gutierrez (2017) 2 Cal.5th 1150, 1171 (Gutierrez).)
Where, as here, the trial court ruled pursuant to the third stage of the analysis, we skip to that stage to examine whether the trial court properly credited the prosecutor‘s reasons for the challenges. “Review of a trial court‘s denial of a Wheeler/Batson motion is deferential, examining only whether substantial evidence supports its conclusions. [Citation.] ‘We review a trial court‘s determination regarding the sufficiency of a prosecutor‘s justifications for exercising peremptory challenges ” ‘with great restraint.’ ” [Citation.] We presume that a prosecutor uses peremptory challenges in a constitutional manner and give great deference to the trial court‘s ability to distinguish bona fide reasons from sham excuses. [Citation.] So long as the trial court makes a sincere and reasoned effort to evaluate the nondiscriminatory justifications offered, its conclusions are entitled to deference on appeal.’ ” (People v. Lenix (2008) 44 Cal.4th 602, 613–614 (Lenix); accord, People v. Winbush (2017) 2 Cal.5th 402, 435 (Winbush).)
The court then acknowledged that the prosecutor‘s stated reasons for striking Kevin C. and Simeon G. were not as “obvious” (as the reasons for striking another prospective juror, Isabella B.). The court, however, concluded that the prosecutor‘s reasons for striking Kevin C. and Simeon G. were legitimate and valid. The court added, “I don‘t need to remind counsel that we‘re treading on thin ice in this area, and the consequences of falling through means we start all over again.” While the discussion was brief, and while the trial court could have done more to make a fuller record and itself acknowledged it was making a somewhat close call, the record shows that the court considered the prosecutor‘s reasons and, as discussed below, those reasons were plausible and supported by the record. In these circumstances, while a more detailed colloquy may well have been helpful, the prosecutor and the trial court adequately developed the record, and on this record, we conclude that the trial court‘s findings are entitled to deference. (See People v. Hardy (2018) 5 Cal.5th 56, 76 (Hardy) [” ’ “When the
i. Comparative juror analysis
“Also relevant here, in light of defendant‘s appellate arguments, are principles pertaining to comparative juror analysis, which, on a claim of race-based peremptory challenges, compares the voir dire responses of the challenged prospective jurors with those of similar jurors who were not members of the challenged jurors’ racial group, whom the prosecutor did not challenge. [Citation.] ‘[C]omparative juror analysis is but one form of circumstantial evidence that is relevant, but not necessarily dispositive, on the issue of intentional discrimination.’ ” (O‘Malley, supra, 62 Cal.4th at pp. 975–976.) Comparative juror analysis is appropriately confined to the jurors defendant has specifically discussed in his appellate briefing. (Winbush, supra, 2 Cal.5th at pp. 442–443)
“Where, as here, the comparative analysis was not made at trial, ‘the prosecutor generally has not provided, and was not asked to provide, an explanation for nonchallenges.’ [Citation.] Therefore, ‘an appellate court must be mindful that an exploration of the alleged similarities at the time of trial might have shown that the jurors in question were not really comparable.’ [Citation.] When a defendant asks for comparative juror analysis for the first time on appeal, we have held that ‘such evidence will be considered in view of the deference accorded the trial court‘s ultimate finding of no discriminatory intent.’ ” (O‘Malley, supra, 62 Cal.4th at p. 976.) We have also held that under these circumstances, ” ‘a
In supplemental briefing, defendant takes issue with our approach to conducting comparative juror analysis for the first time on appeal. He argues that we should ignore some of the Attorney General‘s efforts to distinguish challenged prospective jurors from those purportedly similar jurors whom the prosecutor did not challenge. Considering such distinctions, defendant argues, is inconsistent with recent decisions by the high court and “increases the risk that racial discrimination will persist in the criminal justice system.”
Defendant‘s argument rests primarily on Miller-El v. Dretke (2005) 545 U.S. 231 (Miller-El). There, the high court made clear that “a prosecutor simply has got to state his reasons [for a peremptory challenge] as best he can and stand or fall on the plausibility of the reasons he gives.” (Id. at p. 252.) The high court also cited this portion of its opinion in a footnote criticizing the dissent for “focus[ing] on reasons the prosecution itself did not offer” when the dissent explained why the nonchallenged jurors “were otherwise more acceptable to the prosecution than [the challenged prospective juror].” (Id. at p. 245, fn. 4.) Relying on these two excerpts, defendant observes that, in response to his comparative juror analysis, the Attorney General offers “new reasons for why the white jurors were not discharged” and argues that this “approach is barred by Miller-El‘s stand or fall principle because it is simply the flip side of the same coin of offering new reasons for the discharge of the black jurors” and, moreover, is explicitly rejected by Miller-El‘s footnote four. Defendant further argues that this approach is
We have recognized that “in judging why a prosecutor exercised a particular challenge, the trial court and reviewing court must examine only the reasons actually given. ‘If the stated reason does not hold up, its pretextual significance does not fade because a trial judge, or an appeals court, can imagine a reason that might not have been shown up as false.’ ” (Jones, supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 365, quoting Miller-El, supra, 545 U.S. at p. 252.) However, we have rejected the further argument that in conducting comparative juror analysis for the first time on appeal, “we may not consider reasons not stated on the record for accepting other jurors.” (Jones, at p. 365.) In rejecting that argument, we have observed that “no authority has imposed the additional burden [on the prosecution] of anticipating all possible unmade claims of comparative juror analysis and explaining why other jurors were not challenged.” (Ibid.)
Absent further explanation from the high court, we do not read Miller-El to require us when conducting comparative juror analysis for the first time on appeal, to turn a blind eye to reasons the record discloses for not challenging other jurors even if those jurors are similar in some respects to excused jurors. Reading Miller-El to restrict our review of the record in this manner would seem inconsistent with the high court‘s subsequent statement that the high court in Miller-El “made it clear that in considering a Batson objection, or in reviewing a
That said, we take the opportunity to clarify and to emphasize the following two points about our approach to comparative juror analysis.
First, comparative juror analysis is a form of circumstantial evidence that is relevant on the issue of purposeful discrimination. “If a prosecutor‘s proffered reason for striking a black panelist applies just as well to an otherwise-similar nonblack who is permitted to serve, that is evidence tending to prove purposeful discrimination to be considered at Batson‘s third step.” (Miller-El, supra, 545 U.S. at p. 241.) When a prosecutor states multiple reasons for challenging a juror, a comparison between the challenged juror and a similar nonchallenged juror in regard to any one of the prosecutor‘s stated reasons is relevant, but not necessarily dispositive, on the issue of purposeful discrimination. (See id. at p. 247, fn. 6 [“The dissent contends that there are no white panelists similarly situated to [the challenged jurors] because ’ ” ’ [s]imilarly situated’ does not mean matching any one of several reasons the prosecution gave for striking a potential juror -- it means matching all of them.” ’ [Citation.] None of our cases announces a rule that no comparison is probative unless the situation of the
Second, when conducting comparative juror analysis for the first time on appeal, we need not turn a blind eye to reasons the record discloses for not challenging other jurors. “This is so because a party legitimately may challenge one prospective juror but not another to whom the same particular concern applies. [Citation.] ‘Two panelists might give a similar answer on a given point. Yet the risk posed by one panelist might be offset by other answers, behavior, attitudes or experiences that make one juror, on balance, more or less desirable. These realities, and the complexity of human nature, make a formulaic comparison of isolated responses an exceptionally poor medium to overturn a trial court‘s factual finding.’ ” (People v. Chism (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1266, 1319 (Chism); accord, People v. Krebs (2019) 8 Cal.5th 265, 293–294.)
However, “we bear in mind that comparative juror analysis is not simply an exercise in identifying any conceivable distinctions among prospective jurors. ‘A per se rule that a defendant cannot win a Batson claim unless there is an exactly identical white juror would leave Batson inoperable; potential jurors are not products of a set of cookie cutters.’ [Citation.] Rather, because the ultimate question before us concerns the prosecutor‘s motivations in exercising the challenge in question, we must ask whether there were any material differences among the jurors -- that is, differences, other than race, that we can reasonably infer motivated the prosecutor‘s pattern of challenges.” (O‘Malley, supra, 62 Cal.4th at p. 977.) In determining whether there were any material differences among the jurors, we note that differences among the jurors generally will be more probative if they closely relate to reasons the prosecutor has stated for a peremptory challenge. Because in this case we rely on differences among the jurors that closely relate to reasons the prosecutor has stated for a peremptory challenge, we need not opine on whether differences among the jurors can be material even if they are wholly unrelated to reasons the prosecutor has stated for a peremptory challenge.
b. Prospective Juror Kevin C.
As a preliminary matter, defendant accurately points out that the prosecutor questioned Kevin C. regarding the death penalty but did not question Kevin C. regarding DNA evidence or the O.J. Simpson verdict. (See Smith, supra, 4 Cal.5th at p. 1152 [“an attorney‘s failure to meaningfully examine a prospective juror about a subject about which the attorney
Defendant also accurately points out that the prosecutor did not question other prospective jurors regarding DNA evidence or the O.J. Simpson verdict during voir dire. Defendant argues that this circumstance suggests that the prosecutor was not sincerely concerned about jurors’ views regarding these topics. Our review of the record confirms that
However, our review of the record also indicates that, contrary to defendant‘s argument, the prosecutor appeared interested in jurors’ views regarding DNA evidence and the O.J. Simpson verdict. For the questionnaire, the prosecutor proposed various questions regarding scientific evidence, even leading defense counsel to request modifications to those
Regarding the prosecutor’s first reason, the prosecutor stated, “[Kevin C.] in his questionnaire compared DNA to a polygraph. That it wasn’t a for sure thing.” The prosecutor’s case relied heavily on DNA evidence. The prosecutor’s reason for striking Kevin C. is plausible, supported by the record, and race neutral. However, defendant argues that five other jurors (Jurors Nos. 10 and 11 and Alternate Jurors Nos. 1, 4, and 5) expressed similar reservations about DNA evidence yet were neither questioned nor excused by the prosecutor. Not so.
Unlike Kevin C., these other jurors did not express a negative opinion on DNA evidence. Rather, when asked about DNA evidence, Juror No. 10 replied, “should be admitted if can show + prove accuracy;” Alternate Juror No. 1 replied, “All evidence if more conclusive than not should be considered;” and Alternate Juror No. 4 replied, “No opinion.” In addition, although Alternate Juror No. 5 replied, “It[’]s ok but shouldn’t be only evidence used” and stated elsewhere, “seems it could be
As to the second reason, the prosecutor accurately characterized Kevin C.’s questionnaire responses regarding the death penalty as “tentative.” “A prospective juror’s views about the death penalty are a permissible race- and group-neutral basis for exercising a peremptory challenge in a capital case.” (People v. McDermott (2002) 28 Cal.4th 946, 970–971; see e.g., Winbush, supra, 2 Cal.5th at p. 436 [a juror’s religious reservations about the death penalty can justify a peremptory challenge]; People v. Garcia (2011) 52 Cal.4th 706, 749 [a juror’s “mixed and vague” views about the death penalty can justify a peremptory challenge]; People v. Lomax (2010) 49 Cal.4th 530, 572 (Lomax) [a juror’s reluctance to impose the death penalty can justify a peremptory challenge].)
Kevin C.’s questionnaire responses indicated that he was uncertain whether he could vote for a death sentence and that he had religious reservations about the death penalty. He
It is true that Kevin C. said during Hovey questioning that he could vote for a death sentence, and when asked about his religious objection to the death penalty, he explained, “I feel where I live I should decide. Where I’m a Christian. I go to church, so I think, you know, I can’t. I think God should decide. But, you know, I think I should decide if I live in the community.” But the prosecutor acknowledged this, stating, “I think that in person his, his statements about the death penalty didn’t rise to a level for cause; but, however, I think when you take the totality of his responses, I think, I mean those are essentially the reasons that I’m stating.” Given “[t]he totality of” Kevin C.’s responses regarding the death penalty, the record amply supports the prosecutor’s stated concern. (See Lomax, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 572 [“[If] statements or attitudes of the juror suggest that the juror has ‘reservations or scruples’ about imposing the death penalty, this demonstrated reluctance is a race-neutral reason that can justify a peremptory challenge, even if it would not be sufficient to support a challenge for cause”].)
Instead, most of these jurors merely expressed a degree of unfamiliarity or slight discomfort with the death penalty. For example, Alternate Juror No. 4 appeared unfamiliar with the death penalty, indicating that she did not know whether the death penalty was used too often or too seldom or whether it was fair or unfair, and stating, “I would have to decide based on the evidence + the judge[’]s instructions regarding [the] death penalty.” Juror No. 5 had “mixed emotions” about the death penalty, but she believed the death penalty was fair, she would vote to keep it “[j]ust in case,” and she would not be reluctant to vote for a sentence of death, sign the verdict form, or state the verdict in court. Juror No. 9 stated, “I have mixed emotions. I must know that someone is actually guilty, I feel the death penalty is fair.” She also would vote to keep the death penalty, believed it was used too seldom, and would not be reluctant to vote for a sentence of death, sign the verdict form, or state the verdict in court. And, while Alternate Juror No. 1 made clear that her opinion on the death penalty “depend[ed] on the crime,”
Some of the jurors identified by defendant, however, expressed more significant reservations about the death penalty. Juror No. 6 commented, “insecure about my feelings. I do believe in the death penalty but do not know how I feel about administering it.” But, she, too, said that she would vote to keep the death penalty, that it was fair and used too seldom, and that she would not be reluctant to personally vote for a death sentence, sign the verdict form, or state the verdict in court. She also identified with Group 2, which was defined as “I favor the death penalty, but will not always vote for death in every case of murder with special circumstances.” During Hovey questioning, she said that she might be reluctant to sentence somebody to death, but asked whether “feeling guilty” in her “heart” might “affect the way [she] act[s] on the way [she] feel[s] in [her] head,” she confirmed, “No, I can truthfully say, no, I would not. No. It’s just my own feelings, I should say.” She confirmed that she could follow the law, she could sign a verdict form for a death sentence, and although she “wouldn’t feel good about it,” she could state the verdict for a death sentence in court.
In addition, Juror No. 8 identified with Group 4, which was defined as “I have doubts about the death penalty, but I would not vote against it in every case.” He believed the death penalty was used too often and said that the death penalty “should be reserved for only the most heinous of crimes.” But he characterized the death penalty as fair and would vote to keep it because it is a “necessary evil.” He said that his views were not such that he could never vote for a death sentence,
We find that Juror No. 6’s responses and Juror No. 8’s responses were not so similar to Kevin C.’s responses regarding the death penalty as to cast doubt on the trial court’s acceptance of the prosecutor’s reason for striking Kevin C. While Juror No. 6 expressed some discomfort and reluctance with voting for a death sentence, she made clear that she supported the death penalty and she ultimately confirmed that she could vote for a death sentence. And while Juror No. 8 believed that the death penalty should be reserved for “only the most heinous of crimes,” he made clear that he supported the death penalty and could vote for it in those circumstances. By contrast, among Kevin C.’s tentative and vacillating responses about both his view on the death penalty and his ability to vote for a death sentence, Kevin C. indicated that he had a religious objection to the death penalty and agreed with his religion’s view that “thou should not kill.” These responses called into question the fundamental
Lastly, Juror No. 2 stated, “I am not in favor of the death penalty,” and believed that it was not fair and was used too often. He believed the purpose of the death penalty was “supposedly to deter crime.” Asked whether he had a moral, philosophical, or religious objection to the death penalty, he checked “yes” and elaborated, “I do not believe it deters crime.” He did not refer to any religious beliefs, and he subsequently said that he did not have a religious preference or affiliation. Although he initially said that he “[w]ould not vote” to decide whether or not to keep the death penalty, he subsequently said that he probably would vote to keep the death penalty. In addition, he said that his views were not such that he could never vote for a death sentence, explaining, “I would and could follow the law.” He said that he would not be reluctant to personally vote for a death sentence or personally sign a verdict form for a death sentence, although he would be reluctant to stand up in court, facing the defendant, and state the verdict for a death sentence. He identified himself as belonging to Group 4, which was defined as “I have doubts about the death penalty, but I would not vote against it in every case.” During Hovey questioning, the prosecutor asked, “I think one of your concerns is you were kind of skeptical that maybe it doesn’t deter crime, if that’s the purpose of it . . . . [W]ould you be able to return, personally vote for a death verdict if you felt it was, if it felt [sic] the evidence supported, and the law supported it?” Juror No. 2 replied, “Yes.”
We additionally note that, in stark contrast to Kevin C., who believed DNA evidence was “like a polygraph not a for sure certain” and who was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict because he found it “hard to believe” Simpson was solely
As to the prosecutor’s final reason, Kevin C. checked “no” when asked whether he was upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict and said, “To [sic] hard to believe one man did it all, I believe biases created a lot of the circumstance [sic] evidence.” We have previously held that a prospective juror’s opinion of the O.J. Simpson trial is a nonbiased ground for a peremptory strike. (See Smith, supra, 4 Cal.5th at p. 1153; Vines, supra, 51 Cal.4th at pp. 851–852; Mills, supra, 48 Cal.4th at p. 184.)
The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), however, has filed an amicus curiae brief arguing that asking about a prospective juror’s opinion of the O.J. Simpson verdict is a proxy for race because most Black people support the verdict and most White people do not. LDF refers to studies
LDF’s argument that more Blacks than Whites support the Simpson verdict, “even if factually correct, does not establish that the criterion is not race neutral.” (Melendez, supra, 2 Cal.5th at p. 18.) As we discussed in Melendez, the plurality opinion in Hernandez v. New York (1991) 500 U.S. 352 concluded that “ ‘[w]hile the prosecutor’s criterion might well result in the disproportionate removal of [prospective jurors of a specific ethnicity], that disproportionate impact does not turn the prosecutor’s actions into a per se violation of the Equal Protection Clause.’ ” (Melendez, at p. 17, quoting Hernandez, supra, 500 U.S. at p. 361.) But “the plurality [in Hernandez] did find that a disparate impact would be relevant to the overall inquiry.” (Melendez, at p. 17.) Thus, if LDF’s argument that more Blacks than Whites support the Simpson verdict is factually correct, “this circumstance is relevant to the inquiry as to whether the reasons were sincere and not merely pretextual.” (
We assume that LDF’s argument is factually correct, and we consider this circumstance to be relevant to our inquiry as to whether the prosecutor’s reason was sincere and not merely
In addition, the prosecutor struck several non-African-American prospective jurors who were not upset by the verdict, suggesting that the prosecutor’s concern was sincere and not merely a pretext for excusing African-American prospective
The prosecutor struck, in total, five non-African-American prospective jurors. Four of these five prospective jurors were not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict: Malinda M. (a Hispanic woman) was not upset with the O.J. Simpson verdict because “I think there was doubt in the case and some things were done improper that [led] to the not guilty verdict;” Ronald W. (a White man) was not upset with the O.J. Simpson verdict because “evidently they had weighed all the evidence and come to agreement;” Richard L. (a Hispanic man) was not upset with the O.J. Simpson verdict because “the D.A. did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt;” and Lynia B. (a White woman) was not upset with the O.J. Simpson verdict because “to[o] many unanswered questions was neither convinced of guilt nor innocence.” After striking Malinda M. (a Hispanic woman) and Ronald W. (a White man), the prosecutor specifically said that he had excused jurors “of Hispanic origin and Caucasian origin, and the common denominator, essentially, is that they were not, were not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict.”
In short, each of the prosecutor’s reasons is supported by the record, and considered together, they provide ample, nonbiased grounds for striking Kevin C. Substantial evidence therefore supports the trial court’s conclusion that the prosecutor struck Kevin C. for reasons other than his race.
c. Prospective Juror Simeon G.
The first reason offered by the prosecutor was that Simeon G. liked his own opinion over other people’s opinions. In his questionnaire, Simeon G. described himself as a leader, rather than a follower, because he liked his opinion over other people’s
The dissent does not attach any import to Simeon G.’s response, positing that “[e]veryone likes his or her opinion over other people’s.” (Dis. opn., post, at p. 5.) But the prosecutor was not required to interpret the response as the dissent does. It is not only that Simeon G. said he liked his opinion over other people’s; it is also that he made this statement in order to explain why he would describe himself as a “leader” rather than a “follower.” The prosecutor could reasonably have understood this response, in context, to suggest that if another person had a different opinion, Simeon G.’s view of leadership would cause him to prefer his own opinion “over” the opinion of the other person. It was not unreasonable for the prosecutor to ascribe some significance to Simeon G.’s response.
That said, we recognize that the prosecutor did not ask Simeon G. during voir dire about his stated preference for his own opinion over other people’s opinions. The prosecutor’s failure to engage Simeon G. on each concern, however, is not conclusive in determining whether the prosecutor’s reasons
Despite this, defendant contends that a comparative juror analysis between Simeon G. and Juror No. 1 discredits the prosecutor’s reason. It does not. Juror No. 1 identified herself as a leader, rather than a follower, and elaborated, “I like to make my own decisions.” Although Juror No. 1’s response was similar in some respects to Simeon G.’s response, the prosecutor could reasonably have found Juror No. 1’s response to be less concerning in context than Simeon G.’s response. Jurors are expected to make their own decisions after deliberating with fellow jurors — which Juror No. 1 previously had done to reach a verdict in a separate case. The prosecutor thus could have concluded that Juror No. 1’s statement that she liked to make
Thus, we find some similarities as well as some differences between Simeon G. and Juror No. 1 in regard to the prosecutor’s first reason for striking Simeon G., but we ultimately conclude that their respective responses were not so similar as to cast doubt on the trial court’s acceptance of the prosecutor’s reason for striking Simeon G. We additionally note that Juror No. 1 did not raise any of the other concerns the prosecutor raised in explaining his reasons for the strike. Unlike Simeon G., Juror
As to the second reason for striking Simeon G., the prosecutor expressed concern that Simeon G. might rely on hunches or feelings, rather than evidence, in reaching a verdict in the guilt phase since he replaced the word “doubt” with the word “feeling” and said in his questionnaire that if he had a feeling the defendant did not do it, the defendant was not guilty. The record shows that when asked whether he could follow an instruction that a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Simeon G. checked “yes;” commented, “If I have any feeling that he might not have done it, hes [sic] innocent;” and in this comment, replaced the word “doubt” with the word “feeling.”
When asked about this response, Simeon G. did not “quite remember” replacing the word “doubt” with the word “feeling.” The dissent posits that Simeon G. “most likely” recognized a double negative in his original comment and replaced the word “doubt” with the word “feeling” in an effort to correct it. (Dis. opn., post, at p. 8.) This is a possible explanation. But Simeon G. did not provide this explanation. And had he intended to correct the double negative, he could have revised his comment in multiple ways, including, for example, by crossing out the word “not” or by replacing the word “doubt” with the word “belief.”
But Simeon G. replaced the word “doubt” with the word “feeling,” and as revised, his statement read that if he had “any feeling” that the defendant “might” not have done it, the
The prosecutor’s concern was plausible and supported by the record. We acknowledge that Simeon G.’s questionnaire response may be interpreted in multiple ways and that his other questionnaire responses did not indicate that he would rely on his feelings in reaching a verdict in the guilt phase. However, the prosecutor was not obliged to accept the most innocuous interpretation of Simeon G.’s questionnaire response and could be legitimately concerned about his response for the reasons the prosecutor specifically articulated. (See People v. Mai (2013) 57 Cal.4th 986, 1050, 1051 [where the prospective juror’s
It is true, however, that Simeon G. explained his questionnaire response differently during voir dire. During voir dire, the prosecutor explained to the prospective jurors, including Simeon G., that “if the case has been proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt, your duty is to return a guilty verdict” and the question is if “at the conclusion of the case if the case has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt whether we can expect everybody to come back with a guilty verdict.” Immediately after this, the prosecutor asked Simeon G. about his questionnaire response. Simeon G. did not “quite remember” his questionnaire response, but when asked what he meant by it, Simeon G. explained, “Well, I think what I was trying to say, if I’m correct, is that if the evidence showed that there wasn’t — that there was some reasonable doubt, then I probably would not accuse him, because of the fact that, myself being in the same situation or anybody, I think that if the evidence didn’t totally prove that I did it, then there is some doubt. You know what I’m saying?” Simeon G. added, “So it wasn’t so much a feeling as it was if the evidence didn’t show.” Asked whether he “would base it on evidence,” Simeon G. responded, “Basically, yes. I’m sorry.” He added, “I couldn’t tell you, tell you what I said, because I don’t have the paper to look at what I actually meant totally.”
Reviewing this colloquy in the appellate record, the dissent views Simeon G.’s responses to have “left no ambiguity about the issue.” (Dis. opn., post, at p. 9.) To be sure, Simeon G. gave answers during voir dire that, from the prosecutor’s
Moreover, when providing his reasons for striking Simeon G., the prosecutor acknowledged that Simeon G. explained his questionnaire response “differently in court.” Nevertheless, the prosecutor told the trial court that Simeon G.’s explanation during voir dire did not eliminate the prosecutor’s concern about Simeon G.’s questionnaire response. The prosecutor explained that he was still concerned about Simeon G.’s responses “in light of the fact that he was, he was single-handedly hunted down to be here this afternoon. So [the prosecutor was] not sure that his responses in court should prevail over the answers he gave on his questionnaire.” The dissent seems to contend that the prosecutor was obliged to abandon his concern about Simeon
The trial court was “best situated” to assess Simeon G. s responses in court and the prosecutor s stated concern in light of those responses. (People v. Armstrong (2019) 6 Cal.5th 735, 770 (Armstrong) [“the ‘trial court is best situated to evaluate both the words and the demeanor of jurors who are peremptorily challenged, as well as the credibility of the prosecutor who exercised those strikes’ “].) Having observed Simeon G. in court, the trial court could assess Simeon G. s oral responses, and it was better positioned than our court to determine whether Simeon G. s oral responses should have completely assuaged any potential concerns raised by his written response. The trial court also could assess the credibility of the prosecutor s stated concern about Simeon G. s questionnaire response, as well as the prosecutor s assessment that he was “not sure that [Simeon G. s] responses in court should prevail over the answers he gave
It is by no means clear from the record that if he had been selected, Simeon G. would have relied on his feelings in reaching a verdict in the guilt phase. But “[o]ur task is not to determine whether we would have shared the prosecutor s concerns; the only question before us is whether substantial evidence supports the court s ruling that the prosecutor described legitimate reasons for the challenge and that he challenged [Simeon G.] for those reasons, not because of [his] race.” (Smith, supra, 4 Cal.5th at p. 1161.)
We find that the prosecutor s concern here is plausible, supported by the record, and race neutral. Contrary to defendant s argument, his comparative juror analysis between Simeon G. and Juror No. 5 does not undermine the sincerity of the prosecutor s concern. Asked whether she could follow a
For the final reason, the prosecutor said that Simeon G. (like Kevin C.) was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict. As discussed, a prospective juror s opinion regarding the Simpson case can be a nonbiased ground for a peremptory challenge. Defendant and LDF, however, argue that this reason was a proxy for race or, alternatively, pretextual. As discussed, we assume that LDF s argument that more Blacks than Whites support the Simpson verdict is factually correct, and we consider this circumstance to be relevant to our inquiry as to whether the prosecutor s reason was sincere and not merely pretextual. In this particular case, however, it is plausible that the prosecutor - tasked with securing a conviction in San Bernardino County approximately three years after the Simpson trial took place in the adjacent Los Angeles County - was sincerely concerned about the prospective jurors’ opinions regarding the Simpson verdict because the prosecutor considered Simpson s case to be similar to defendant s case given that both cases relied on DNA evidence and circumstantial evidence. Also as discussed, it appears that the prosecutor was not alone in considering Simpson s case to be similar in some respects to defendant s case because both the trial court and defense counsel referred to Simpson s case at various points when discussing DNA evidence. (See ante, at p. 50.) In addition, four of the five non-African-American prospective jurors whom the prosecutor struck were not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict, suggesting that the prosecutor s concern was sincere and not merely a
That said, we find that the credibility of the prosecutor s concern here is undermined to some degree by the prosecutor s failure to ask Simeon G. or other prospective jurors about the O.J. Simpson verdict during voir dire. In his questionnaire, Simeon G. indicated that he was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict but left blank the follow-up request to “[p]lease explain why or why not.” To be sure, we recognize that one might infer from this response that Simeon G. was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict because he simply agreed with the verdict, requiring little explanation. But we also recognize that a prospective juror may not be upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict for a variety of reasons. While the prosecutor s failure to question Simeon G. or other prospective jurors about the O.J. Simpson verdict does not necessarily demonstrate that the prosecutor s concern was pretextual, we consider this circumstance to be relevant to our inquiry as to whether the prosecutor s concern was pretextual here. (See Smith, supra, 4 Cal.5th at p. 1152 [“an attorney s failure to meaningfully examine a prospective juror about a subject about which the attorney claims to be concerned can constitute evidence of pretext“].)
When the prosecutor gave this reason for striking Simeon G., the prosecutor stated, “If you‘ll notice across the board, I ve excused jurors I believe of Hispanic origin and Caucasian origin, and the common denominator, essentially, is that they were not, were not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict, which was a DNA, circumstantial case.” Defendant argues that the prosecutor s statement meant that “he had struck all prospective jurors who were not upset with the O.J. Simpson verdict” and “this is not
Nevertheless, defendant s comparative juror analysis between Simeon G. and Juror No. 6 and Alternate Juror No. 5 has some probative value and is more convincing than it was with respect to Kevin C.16 As noted, Simeon G. checked “no” as
We recognize that jurors need not be identical in all respects for a comparison among them to be probative, and we continue to consider defendant s comparisons to be relevant and probative on the issue of purposeful discrimination here. (See ante, at pp. 35-37.) However, we additionally consider as part of our inquiry into the prosecutor s motivations for striking Simeon G. that Juror No. 6 and Alternate Juror No. 5 were dissimilar from Simeon G. in regard to the prosecutor s other two stated reasons for striking Simeon G. (See ibid.)
Neither Juror No. 6 nor Alternate Juror No. 5 indicated that they might have difficulty considering the opinions of or deliberating with others when asked whether they considered themselves leaders or followers and why. Juror No. 6 considered herself “[b]oth” a leader and a follower “depend[ing] on what
Considering these and all other relevant circumstances, we view the issue to be close but ultimately find no adequate basis to overturn the trial court s ruling under the applicable standard of review. We find that each of the prosecutor s reasons for striking Simeon G. is plausible, supported by the record, and race neutral. Considering the prosecutor s reasons together and reviewing the trial court s determination regarding the sufficiency of those reasons with great restraint (see Lenix, supra, 44 Cal.4th at p. 613), we conclude that substantial evidence supports the trial court s conclusion that the prosecutor struck Simeon G. for reasons other than his race.
B. Excusal of Two Prospective Jurors for Cause
Defendant contends the trial court erroneously excused two prospective jurors based on their views about the death penalty. We disagree.
“Under Wainwright v. Witt (1985) 469 U.S. 412, 424 [83 L.Ed.2d 841, 105 S.Ct. 844] (Witt), we consider whether the record fairly supports the trial court s determination that [a prospective juror s] views on the death penalty would have prevented or substantially impaired her performance as a juror.” (People v. Thomas (2011) 52 Cal.4th 336, 357.) ” ’ “Generally, a trial court s rulings on motions to exclude for cause are afforded deference on appeal, for ‘appellate courts recognize that a trial judge who observes and speaks with a prospective juror and hears that person s responses (noting, among other things, the person s tone of voice, apparent level of confidence, and demeanor), gleans valuable information that simply does not appear on the record.’ ” ’ ” (Id. at p. 358.)
As a preliminary matter, defendant contends that deferring to the trial court s findings on jury selection issues is improper for two reasons. First, he argues that such deference is inappropriate on direct appeal in light of the high court s holding in Greene v. Georgia (1996) 519 U.S. 145, 146-147. But Greene held that the Supreme Court of Georgia was mistaken when it believed itself bound by Witt s standard of review: It was “free to adopt the rule laid down in Witt for review of trial court findings in jury-selection cases, but it need not do so.” (Greene, at p. 147.) In contrast, we have previously adopted Witt s standard of review and accordingly rejected this argument because “[t]he law in California . . . is settled on the point.” (People v. Farnam (2002) 28 Cal.4th 107, 132, fn. 6.)
Second, defendant argues that deferring to the trial court s resolution of inconsistencies or ambiguities is contrary to the high court s holdings in Adams v. Texas (1980) 448 U.S. 38 (Adams) and Gray v. Mississippi (1987) 481 U.S. 648 (Gray). We have rejected the contention that Adams and Gray ” ‘made clear that when a prospective capital case juror gives equivocal responses, the state has not carried its burden of proving that the juror s views would “prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror.” ’ ” (People v. Schmeck (2005) 37 Cal.4th 240, 263 (Schmeck).) We also have rejected the contention that Gray “suggests the high court intended to cast aside its view that ‘deference must be paid to the trial judge who sees and hears the juror.’ ” (People v. Moon (2005) 37 Cal.4th 1, 15 (Moon).) ” ‘Furthermore, the high court has more recently reiterated its view that “[c]ourts reviewing claims of Witherspoon-Witt error . . . owe deference to the trial court, which is in a superior position to determine the demeanor and qualifications of a potential juror.” ’ ” (People v. Bryant, Smith and Wheeler (2014) 60 Cal.4th 335, 400.) These arguments therefore are meritless.
1. Prospective Juror No. 44
Prospective Juror No. 44 s (Number 44) responses to the approximately 31-page jury questionnaire signaled a degree of uncertainty and discomfort regarding the death penalty. She said, “I don t feel one way or another” on whether the death penalty is fair or unfair, and “I don t have an opinion” on whether the death penalty is used too often or too seldom. Asked whether the sentence of death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole was more severe, she responded, “Depends - for me Life w/o parole - for others - I don t know.” But she also said that she did not like the death penalty, that it made her “uncomfortable,” and that she would vote to abolish it. She identified herself as belonging to Group 4, which was defined as “I have doubts about the death penalty, but I would not vote against it in every case.”
She said that her feelings about the death penalty were not such that she “would refuse to find the defendant guilty of first degree murder and/or would refuse to find the special circumstance true, solely to avoid having to make a decision on the death penalty,” and that she was “willing to weigh and consider all the aggravating and mitigating factors that will be presented to [her] before deciding the penalty in this case.” However, she indicated that she would be reluctant to vote for a
During Hovey questioning, the prosecutor asked whether her identification as belonging to Group 4 (that she has doubts about the death penalty but would not vote against it in every case) was accurate “about the way [she] feel[s] on the death penalty.” She responded, “You know, it s really hard to say exactly what you would do when you re not in the situation. I would have - I would never know exactly what I would do until I m put in that situation. So, yeah, I would have doubts.” The prosecutor then explained that in the penalty phase, the court will provide an instruction listing mitigating and aggravating factors to consider and “essentially if you find the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, then death is the appropriate verdict, if you find that.” The prosecutor asked, “Do you think that - can you say for sure, I guess is my question, that if placed in that position with the aggravating factors weighing more heavily, could you personally make the vote?” She responded, “I know, I know what you re looking for, and I m sorry. I can t help you with it, because I don t know, because there have been too many - I m 39, and there have been too many times that I ve said I d never do this, or I d always do that,
Defense counsel subsequently explained, “[T]he Court at the end always gives instructions to jurors about what the law is, and how they re supposed to carry out their duties. . . . And in a death penalty case, there are certain things that the law allows jurors to consider in deciding whether to select death or life, assuming you were in that position. They re called aggravating factors, mitigating factors.” Defense counsel then asked, “if you re selected and sworn as a juror, could you commit yourself under oath to follow what the Judge told you the law was? Or do you think there s something else that might interfere with your ability to do that?” She responded, “I don t think there s anything that would interfere with my ability. And I can t tell you, and I don t know if I could follow the law. There s - I m - there s just a good chance that I would or I wouldn t. You re going to have to pick me and have me sit here and see, because I just don t know.”
At the close of this questioning, the prosecutor challenged her for cause. The trial court initially stated, “She technically comes within the Wainwright [v.] Witt standard. She s not saying her views are such that it would substantially interfere with her ability to follow the instructions and her duty, she just
Later, after reviewing the record and the authority cited by the prosecutor, the trial court found, “[M]y memory is refreshed that her answers basically were that she could not say whether she would be able to impose the death penalty, and it was not just that she didn t know whether in this case she could impose the death penalty, because obviously she wouldn t know until she got - she heard the evidence and the law. But in any situation, basically, she didn t know until she was put in that situation whether she could do it, or whether she could follow the Court s instructions in this area. . . . I would agree with [the prosecutor] that that s sufficiently equivocal. Her ‘I don t know’ responses are sufficiently equivocal to warrant a challenge for cause, so I will order that she be excused.”
The trial court did not err in excusing Number 44. Number 44 said in her questionnaire and during Hovey questioning that she did not know whether she could vote for a death sentence. Certainly, a juror s decision as to whether to vote for a death sentence can be weighty and difficult. “[E]ven a juror who ‘might find it very difficult to vote to impose the death penalty’ is not necessarily substantially impaired unless he or she was unwilling or unable to follow the court s instructions in determining the appropriate penalty.” (People v. Merriman (2014) 60 Cal.4th 1, 53 (Merriman).) Number 44, however, did not merely express uncertainty as to “her own views on the death penalty or the appropriateness of the death penalty in any particular case, but as to her ability to impose a death sentence.” (Wall, supra, 3 Cal.5th at p. 1063.) When asked in her questionnaire whether her feelings about the death penalty were such that she would never be able to vote for a death sentence, she wrote, “I don t know - I ve done a few things I thought I would never do.” She repeated during Hovey questioning that she did not know whether she could vote for a death sentence. (See Wall, supra, 3 Cal.5th at p. 1062 [upholding the excusal of a prospective juror who “expressed hesitation about her ability to impose a death verdict” and “[i]n response to repeated questions by the trial court and the prosecutor as to whether she had the ability to impose the death penalty . . . said she did not know if she did“].)
Number 44 further expressed uncertainty as to her ability to follow the trial court s instructions regarding the consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors in deciding whether to impose a death sentence. Although she said in her questionnaire that she was willing to weigh and consider all the aggravating and mitigating factors before deciding the penalty in this case, she then responded to a similar question during Hovey questioning by saying, “I don t know if I could follow the law. There s - I m - there s just a good chance that I would or I wouldn t. You re going to have to pick me and have me sit here and see, because I just don t know.” “Given the juror s own recognition that [she] did not know whether [she] could follow the law or ever vote for the death sentence, the trial court did not commit Witherspoon/Witt error when it found the juror was
Nevertheless, defendant compares Number 44 to Juror White in the high court s Adams opinion and argues that Number 44 s responses were insufficient to justify her excusal. “But using Adams as a reference point for evaluating the excusal of [Number 44] is inapt because Adams concerned the particular statutory scheme in Texas, whereby ’ “[p]rospective jurors shall be informed that a sentence of life imprisonment or death is mandatory on conviction of a capital felony. A prospective juror shall be disqualified from serving as a juror unless he states under oath that the mandatory penalty of death or imprisonment for life will not affect his deliberations on any issue of fact.” ’ [Citation.] As the Adams court explained, the statutory scheme is inconsistent with the standard demanded by the federal Constitution because ‘neither nervousness, emotional involvement, nor inability to deny or confirm any effect whatsoever is equivalent to an unwillingness or an inability on the part of the jurors to follow the court s instructions and obey their oaths, regardless of their feelings about the death penalty.’ ” (People v. Thompson (2016) 1 Cal.5th 1043, 1068.) Moreover, unlike Juror White and others who were improperly excluded under this statutory scheme “only because they were unable positively to state whether or not their deliberations would in any way be ‘affected’ ” (Adams, supra, 448 U.S. at p. 50; id. at p. 50, fn. 8), Number 44 was not merely “unable positively to state whether or not [her] deliberations would in any way be ‘affected,’ ” (id. at p. 50) but rather, she did not know whether she would be able to follow the court s instructions in a death penalty case or vote for a death sentence.
In short, we decline to find error in the trial court s decision to excuse Number 44 for cause.
2. Prospective Juror No. 63
Prospective Juror No. 63 (Number 63) did not reveal much hesitation regarding the death penalty in his questionnaire
Inexplicably, however, he failed to respond to several other questions, including, among others, what his general feelings were about the death penalty, what he believed to be the purpose of the death penalty, whether the death penalty was used too often or too seldom, and whether he would vote to keep or abolish the death penalty. Nor did he identify which one of five defined groups most accurately described his opinion regarding the death penalty.
Separately, and without explanation, he checked “no” when asked whether he thought he could be a fair and impartial juror in this case and when asked whether he was “willing to
During Hovey questioning, Number 63 said that he did not have strong feelings about the death penalty, but that he would not feel comfortable voting for a death sentence and that he would be reluctant to do so. The prosecutor asked, “Do you think your feelings about that might affect the way you judge the guilt or innocence of the defendant?” He said, “It might.” The prosecutor then asked, “Do you think that your feelings might also affect the way you look at the Court s instructions about the death penalty?” He again said, “It might.” He also confirmed that sitting on this type of case might be difficult for him based on his feelings.
The defense subsequently asked, “[D]o your feelings about the death penalty, are they based on a religious or ethical thing, or is it just your own personal feelings about it?” Number 63 responded, “You could say both.” The defense then asked, “If you were to be asked to judge which penalty to impose, and the Court gave you what the rules are, here s how you decide. You look at all the aggravating factors, and they are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. You look at all the mitigating factors, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Whatever they are. You decide whether the aggravating factors weigh more than the mitigating factors. If they do, then you vote for death. If they don t, you vote for life without possibility of parole. [¶] Would you be able to follow that instruction?” Number 63 responded, “I don t know.” The defense asked, “What gives you - what is your concern about following that instruction?” Number 63 responded, “The way I feel.” To clarify, the defense asked, “Which is that you wouldn t want to vote for death?” Number 63 responded, “Nope.” Again seeking to clarify, the
The prosecutor challenged Number 63 for cause “based on his answers,” and the defense said, “Submit it.” The trial court excused Number 63 for cause.
“Jurors are not required to like the law, but they are required to follow it.” (Armstrong, supra, 6 Cal.5th at p. 750.) “[S]o long as prospective jurors can obey the court s instructions and determine whether death is appropriate based on a sincere consideration of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, they are not ineligible to serve.” (Ibid.) “A jury candidate who will not, or cannot, follow a statutory framework, is not qualified to serve.” (Ibid.)
Here, Number 63 said in his questionnaire that he did not have any moral, philosophical, or religious objection to the death penalty, his feelings were not such that he “would never be able to personally vote for the death of the defendant under any circumstances,” and he would not be reluctant to sign the verdict form for a death sentence or state that verdict in court. But he said during Hovey questioning that his feelings about the death penalty were based both on “a religious or ethical thing . . . and [his] own personal feelings,” he “[didn t] think” he wanted to vote for a death sentence, and he would be reluctant and not feel comfortable doing so.
As with Number 44, a generalized recognition that it would be difficult to impose a death sentence does not mean that a juror is necessarily substantially impaired. (See Merriman, supra, 60 Cal.4th at p. 53.) But Number 63 said more. He indicated in his questionnaire that he was not “willing to weigh
” ’ [A prospective] juror s inability to set aside his or her personal views and follow the law, need not be demonstrated with unmistakable clarity.’ ” (People v. Jones, supra, 3 Cal.5th at p. 615.) Here, Number 63 s written and oral responses could have left the trial court with “the definite impression that [he] would be unable to faithfully and impartially apply the law.” (Wainwright v. Witt, supra, 469 U.S. at p. 426.) That defense counsel merely submitted the question to the trial court20 further “suggest[s] counsel concurred in the assessment that the juror was excusable.” (People v. Cleveland, supra, 32 Cal.4th at p. 735; cf. Witt, supra, 469 U.S. at p. 435 [where counsel did not question the juror or object to the trial court s excusing her for cause, “it seems that at the time [the juror] was excused no one
C. Standard for Excusing Prospective Jurors for Cause
Defendant challenges the standard for excusing prospective jurors based on their views of the death penalty. ” ‘Under the applicable state and federal constitutional provisions, prospective jurors may be excused for cause if their views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of their duties.’ ” (People v. Gonzalez (2012) 54 Cal.4th 1234, 1284–1285.) We recently declined an invitation to revisit this standard and do so again here. (See People v. Rices (2017) 4 Cal.5th 49, 79–80 (Rices).)
III. GUILT PHASE ISSUES
A. Denial of Defendant‘s Motion to Suppress
Pursuant to a search warrant, the police collected, among other items, a sample of defendant‘s blood and the note from his truck. Before trial, defendant moved to suppress this evidence. The trial court denied his motion. Defendant contends the court erred because the search warrant affidavit contained misrepresentations and omissions that were intentionally false or made in reckless disregard for the truth. The trial court did not err.
On June 16, 1992, the police received a report that a “black male wearing a white T-shirt armed with a small handgun” had just committed a robbery and rape at a nearby office building in Torrance. (See ante, pt. I.B.1.a.v.) Within minutes of the report, and in the general vicinity from which the suspect may have attempted to flee, two officers spotted defendant in his truck, appearing very nervous and matching the suspect‘s general description. The officers unsuccessfully attempted to stop defendant, a chase ensued, and the officers shot and arrested him. Once Detective Lore learned about the arrest, he sought a warrant to search defendant, his residences, and his vehicle.
a. Detective Lore‘s affidavit in support of the search warrant
Detective Lore‘s 11-page affidavit, dated June 18, 1992, began by describing Willem‘s death in Rialto and its apparent connection to other, similar rapes and robberies committed throughout San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. He described two such similar incidents: the Christine C. incident in Victorville and the Osburn and Carole D. incident in San Bernardino. In both incidents, the suspect bound the victims with telephone receiver cords. In the Christine C. incident, “a suspect was described as a tall Black male adult, late 20‘s to early 30‘s, armed with a small caliber handgun,” and in the Osburn and Carole D. incident, the description of the suspect “matched the description of the suspect in the Victorville crime.” Forensic specialist David Stockwell performed a chemical analysis for the three incidents and concluded that “the same suspect that committed the homicide/rape in the Rialto [sic], committed the rape in Victorville, [and] was also responsible for the robbery/rape in the City of San Bernardino.” Based on
Detective Lore next summarized a series of similar robberies. “The robberies included professional business suites in the late evening hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, very similar to that of the time of the rapes mentioned previously. The robberies also included a male Black that matched the physical description of the one that was described in two of the rape incidents. The subject was armed with a small caliber semi-automatic handgun at the time of these robberies. During some of the robberies, the victims were bound with telephone receiver cords. During the follow-up interviews with the victims in these cases, it was revealed that in most of the cases the suspect had made some specific comments. The most prevalent being, ‘Don‘t look at me.’ ”
Elaborating with respect to a related robbery, Detective Lore said that Arnold and Sharyn Andersen were working at their business when they were “confronted by a tall Black male adult, armed with a small caliber handgun.” “The suspect made both victims lie on the floor. The subject robbed the victims of approximately $1,600.00 in cash and fled out the same door where he had forced entry.” Detective Lore continued, “The investigation by San Bernardino Police Department revealed that the suspect smashed out a small window over the locking area of the door, which led into the rear portion of the business suite. When doing this, the suspect cut himself on the glass and had grabbed a box of Kleenex that was sitting on a counter near the back door to stop some of the bleeding. The Kleenex box was collected and linked to the suspect.”
Next, Detective Lore explained that in June 1992, he learned that the Torrance Police Department had arrested defendant for committing a robbery and rape, during which “the suspect tied both victims with telephone receiver cords, had a chrome handgun, spoke very softly in a calm voice, and had made vaginal penetration with his finger and penis from behind. The suspect also said to the victims, ‘Where is the money’ and ‘Don‘t look at me.’ ” According to Detective Lore, “All of the above M.O. traits are consistent with the crimes in the Inland Empire from January through March of 1992.”
Detective Lore then proceeded to describe defendant. According to the Torrance Police Department, he has AB positive blood, which “is the same type of blood that the suspect in the Rialto homicide and the two other rapes in Victorville and San Bernardino [has].” He “is further described as being very clean with virtually no body fat. The physical description provided by his California Driver‘s License is 6‘6“, 210#, Black hair and brown eyes.” “Mr. Miles criminal history from the State of California [citation] describes him also as being a Black male, 6‘5“, 200#.” In addition, Detective Lore listed his residences, noting that he listed with the DMV an address in Compton as of March 23, 1992 and that the “crime spree stopped in the Inland Empire on 3/8/92, before the suspect moved to Compton, CA.” Detective Lore concluded, “[b]ased on my experience as being a policeman for approximately 20 years, Mr.
Detective Lore added, “A photographic line-up with the suspect‘s photograph in position #2 was tentatively I.D.‘d by victim Heynen, one of the victim‘s [sic] in the Upland robbery which occurred on 1/21/92. The victim pointed to position #2 (suspect Miles) and said, ‘It could be him.’ ”
Near the end of the affidavit, Detective Lore summarized, “With the exception of the homicide, the suspect in each crime is described as articulate and soft spoken. Witnesses to the robberies described the suspect as being Black male adult, 25-35 years, 6‘-6‘4“, thin build, large dark eyes, dark hair, wearing a dark blue or black watch cap, dark blue or black Levi type pants, an[d] at times was described as having a thin moustache. Information derived from his driver‘s license history, criminal history and booking information reveals his physical description of 6‘6“, 210#, black hair and brown eyes.” Detective Lore believed evidence from these crimes would be located during searches of defendant, his residences, and his vehicle and listed the items sought and described the places and person to be searched. Judge Gunn issued the warrant.
On appeal, defendant contends that the affidavit contained misrepresentations and omissions regarding the Kleenex box, Heynen‘s identification, and the suspect descriptions. Before trial, Detective Lore testified regarding his affidavit, the search warrant, and the searches conducted pursuant to the warrant. As to the three purported misrepresentations or omissions challenged on appeal, he testified as follows.
The prosecutor subsequently recalled Detective Lore to testify about this statement again. At this time, the prosecutor asked whether there were some things in his affidavit “which ultimately were found not to be correct” including “a Kleenex box alleged to have been analyzed and linked to the defendant through scientific evidence.” Detective Lore replied, “Yes.” Asked whether he was aware that this statement was not true at the time of his affidavit, Detective Lore replied, “No.” Asked whether he intentionally made this statement with the intent to deceive the magistrate judge, Detective Lore again replied, “No.” Asked to explain why he included this statement, he testified, “It was my belief at the time that [the] San Bernardino Police Department had collected the Kleenex box, along with the blood stained Kleenexes, that were placed into evidence and they were going to be shipped to the Crime Lab.” He was not sure whether at the time of the affidavit, he anticipated that the items “were going to go [to the lab], or that they were already there.” He acknowledged, though, that at the time of the affidavit, he did
Second, Detective Lore testified that Heynen had identified another individual during an earlier photographic lineup, but he did not include this information in his affidavit. He said that he orally informed the magistrate judge that he had sought and obtained search warrants with regard to other suspects in this case and that the warrant sought here was “either the fourth or fifth search warrant” sought in this case.
Third, Detective Lore testified that the suspect descriptions in his affidavit were based on the ATM photographs captured after Willem‘s death, police reports, and victim interviews. Regarding the ATM photographs, he explained that he had visited the same ATM camera, and by comparing himself to the photographed suspect, he had estimated that the suspect was approximately six feet, five inches tall or six feet, six inches tall. As to the police reports, the defense pressed Detective Lore, asking him to confirm the height and weight descriptions reported by the victims.21 When the defense asked whether any
Asked by the defense whether he meant to imply “that basically all of these people had similar descriptions” by stating that the robberies “included a male black that matched the physical description” of the Christine C. and Osburn and Carole D. suspect, Detective Lore replied affirmatively. The defense then asked whether, in his opinion, someone who is six feet, 150 pounds “matches” defendant‘s height and weight. Detective Lore replied, “After 25 years of law enforcement, you begin to realize that people are not very good with heights and weights.” When the prosecutor subsequently questioned Detective Lore, he confirmed that by the word “matched,” he did not mean to suggest that each victim‘s suspect description exactly mirrored defendant‘s height and weight. Rather, he meant that “[t]he descriptions given by the different witnesses and victims in this case, [were] within a couple of pounds or a couple of inches. And when I say a couple of pounds, 10, 20, 30.” He also confirmed that he included defendant‘s height and weight in the affidavit to make the magistrate aware that discrepancies existed.
b. Trial court‘s ruling
The trial court evaluated defendant‘s contentions with respect to each of the three purported misrepresentations or omissions challenged on appeal.
First, regarding the Kleenex box statement, the trial court reasoned that it could be interpreted in one of two ways. The first possible interpretation was that the “blood on the box had been scientifically matched to the suspect‘s blood. In this case,
The trial court found that this second interpretation was consistent with the surrounding facts in the affidavit and was consistent with Detective Lore‘s testimony, in which he explained that he had later learned the Kleenex box could not be analyzed because it had been wiped off. The trial court concluded, “[b]ased on the Court‘s reading of the affidavit, and having heard the affiant testify on both occasions as to his intentions in including that information, the Court cannot say that he knowingly and deliberately included false information for the purpose of deceiving the Magistrate, nor can the Court find a reckless disregard for the truth on [the] affiant‘s part. At most, the Court would find a negligent mistake in drafting the affidavit in such a way that a Magistrate could mistakenly assume there was a scientific link, or failing to include the information that the box was to be analyzed later.”
Second, as to the purported omission of Heynen‘s earlier identification, the trial court found, “The identification by Miss Heynen is, at the very least, equivocal and falls short of a positive identification. I can assume that the Magistrate came to the same conclusion, and that the additional information would not have led to a different result or have added anything of substance to the affidavit.”
Third, regarding the suspect descriptions, the trial court “[did] not find this information to be misleading or false, and [did] not find that defendant ha[d] met his initial burden of showing a knowing or intentionally false statement, or reckless disregard for the truth.”
Finally, the trial court found that “the affiant and the executing officers had an objective good faith reliance on the warrant, and the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule would apply in this case.”
2. Discussion
” ‘In reviewing a search conducted pursuant to a warrant, an appellate court inquires “whether the magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding a fair probability existed that a search would uncover wrongdoing.” [Citation.] “The task of the
“A defendant has a limited right to challenge the veracity of statements contained in an affidavit of probable cause made in support of the issuance of a search warrant. The trial court must conduct an evidentiary hearing only if a defendant makes a substantial showing that (1) the affidavit contains statements that are deliberately false or were made in reckless disregard of the truth, and (2) the affidavit‘s remaining contents, after the false statements are excised, are insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. Innocent or negligent misrepresentations will not support a motion to traverse. [Citations.] A defendant who challenges a search warrant based on omissions in the affidavit bears the burden of showing an intentional or reckless omission of material information that, when added to the affidavit, renders it insufficient to support a finding of probable cause. [Citations.] In either setting, the defendant must make his showing by a preponderance of the evidence, and the affidavit is presumed valid.” (Scott, supra, 52 Cal.4th at p. 484.)
First, the trial court‘s reading of the Kleenex box statement to mean “that the authorities collected the evidence, [and] believed the blood on the box was that of the suspect when he forced entry into the building” (but not to suggest “that the analysis had been done and that the blood on the box was that of Mr. Miles“) is supported by the record. Indeed, the affidavit‘s first several pages detailed the series of robberies and rapes, referring throughout to the “suspect” or the “subject” of those crimes, and made no mention of defendant or his arrest. Reading this statement‘s reference to the “suspect” of the Andersens crime to mean defendant is thus strained, as the trial court found.
That said, Detective Lore‘s testimony about his own statement necessarily complicates the analysis. At one point, Detective Lore confirmed that the purpose of his statement was to assert that there was a “scientific link” between the Kleenex box and defendant. When later questioned by the prosecutor, however, Detective Lore said that he believed only that the “San Bernardino Police Department had collected the Kleenex box, along with the blood stained Kleenexes, that were placed into evidence and they were going to be shipped to the Crime Lab.” He also confirmed that at the time of his statement, he was not aware that the statement was untrue, and he did not make it with the intent to deceive the magistrate judge. Faced with this inconsistent testimony, and with the opportunity to assess
In any event, even assuming that this statement was intentionally false or made with a reckless disregard for the truth, and accordingly was excised from the affidavit, the affidavit would nevertheless establish probable cause. The affidavit catalogued the similarities among the series of rapes and robberies, including that the crimes occurred on weekday evenings at professional offices, that several of the victims were bound with telephone cords, and that the suspect was described as a tall, Black man who was armed. In addition, the affidavit described the consistencies between these incidents and the rape and robbery for which defendant was arrested and described defendant as a tall, Black man with AB blood, which was consistent with the suspect descriptions and the forensic analysis.
Second, we turn to the affidavit‘s statement about Heynen‘s lineup identification. The affidavit stated that Heynen “tentatively” identified defendant in a photographic
Finally, substantial evidence supports the trial court‘s finding as to defendant‘s third contention regarding the suspect descriptions. The affidavit plainly stated the range of the suspect‘s height as described by the victims, and in the immediately following sentence, set forth defendant‘s actual height and weight. The affidavit therefore made clear the discrepancies between the suspect descriptions and defendant‘s
For these reasons, the trial court did not err.
B. Instruction Regarding Motive
Pursuant to CALJIC No. 2.51, the jury was instructed as follows: “Motive is not an element of the crime charged and need not be shown. However, you may consider motive or lack of motive as a circumstance in this case. Presence of motive may
1. Murder by Torture
The trial court instructed the jury that murder by torture requires in relevant part “a willful, deliberate, and premeditated intent to inflict extreme and prolonged pain upon a living human being for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion or for any sadistic purpose.” Defendant argues that this “purpose” element was effectively negated by instructing the jury that motive was not an element of murder by torture.
We previously rejected that precise argument in People v. Whisenhunt (2008) 44 Cal.4th 174, 218. In Whisenhunt, the defendant argued that CALJIC No. 2.51 “had the effect of negating the element of ‘sadistic purpose’ in the first degree murder by torture instruction, CALJIC No. 8.24.” (Whisenhunt, at p. 218; see also id. at p. 219, fn. 11 [CALJIC No. 8.24 stated in relevant part, “for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion or for any sadistic purpose“].) We observed that the Court of Appeal had previously rejected that argument in People v. Lynn (1984) 159 Cal.App.3d 715, and we concluded that Lynn “correctly decided this issue.” (Whisenhunt, at p. 218.) We explained, ” ’ [A]lthough malice and certain intents and purposes are elements of the crimes, . . . motive is not an element.’ [Citation.] ‘Motive describes the reason a person chooses to commit a crime. The reason, however, is different from a
Nor does defendant‘s reliance on People v. Maurer (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1121, 1125 compel a departure. In Maurer, the trial court instructed the jury that misdemeanor child annoyance required that ” ’ [the] acts or conduct were motivated by an unnatural or abnormal sexual interest.’ ” (Id. at p. 1125, italics added.) The trial court additionally instructed the jury that motive was not an element of the crime charged and need not be shown. Reasoning that “the question whether ‘motive’ is somehow different from ‘motivation’ or ‘motivated by’ is a question of some academic interest but of little practical significance,” the Court of Appeal held that the trial court erred by not excluding this misdemeanor child annoyance charge from the motive instruction of CALJIC No. 2.51. (Maurer, at p. 1127.) Unlike the charge in Maurer, however, the murder by torture charge here did not reference or require motive, or any derivation of that term. (Cf. People v. Hillhouse (2002) 27 Cal.4th 469, 503–504 (Hillhouse) [distinguishing Maurer where motive was not element of crime].) We find no error.
2. Penetration by a Foreign Object
The trial court instructed the jury that penetration by a foreign object under
We have made clear, however, that motive is not an element of an offense merely because the offense requires a particular purpose or intent. (See, e.g., Hillhouse, supra, 27 Cal.4th at pp. 503–504.) Accordingly, motive was not an element of the penetration by a foreign object charges simply by virtue of the charges requiring a particular “purpose and specific intent.” (Cf. People v. White (1986) 179 Cal.App.3d 193, 198, 205–206 [regarding the ” ‘purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse’ ” requirement of former
C. Instruction Regarding Intent to Kill
Defendant contends that the jury was not properly instructed regarding the intent-to-kill requirement of the torture-murder special circumstance and therefore the jury‘s finding on this special circumstance violates state and federal law and must be reversed. The trial court instructed the jury pursuant to CALJIC No. 8.80.1 that if it found defendant guilty of first degree murder, the jury must determine if one or more of the following special circumstances are true: “the murder was committed by the defendant while in the commission of, or attempted commission of a robbery, rape or burglary; or the murder was intentional and involved the intent to inflict torture. . . . Unless an intent to kill is an element of a special circumstance, if you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant actually killed a human being, you need not
Regarding the torture-murder special circumstance, the trial court instructed the jury pursuant to CALJIC No. 8.81.18, over the defense‘s objection: “To find that the special circumstance, referred to in these instructions as murder involving infliction of torture is true, each of the following facts must be proved: [¶] 1. The murder was intentional; and; [¶] 2. The defendant intended to inflict extreme cruel physical pain and suffering upon a living human being for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion or for any sadistic purpose. Awareness of pain by the deceased is not a necessary element of torture.”
Defendant argues that CALJIC No. 8.81.18‘s directive that “[t]he murder was intentional” did not adequately instruct the jury as to the intent-to-kill requirement of the torture-murder special circumstance. He acknowledges that in some cases, CALJIC No. 8.81.18 may adequately instruct the jury as to this requirement. But he argues that where, as here, the jury was presented with multiple theories of first degree murder — specifically, premeditation and deliberation, torture, and felony murder — and two of those theories did not require an intent to kill, CALJIC No. 8.81.18‘s directive that “[t]he murder was intentional” did not necessarily require the jury to find that defendant intended to kill but rather required the jury simply to find that defendant intended to inflict torture or intended to commit the crime of rape, robbery, or burglary. In support of this argument, defendant relies on People v. Pearson (2012) 53 Cal.4th 306 (Pearson).
We were unable to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that “the court‘s instructional error, the omission of an intent-to-kill requirement for an accomplice‘s liability under the torture-murder special circumstance, was harmless.” (Pearson, supra, 53 Cal.4th at p. 323.) The jury‘s verdict form showed “its reliance on an aiding and abetting theory,” and the jury made no finding “as to whether defendant aided and abetted his accomplices’ fatal acts with the intent to kill or merely with reckless indifference to the victim‘s life.” (Ibid.) The “confusing” language provided on the verdict form for the torture-murder special circumstance also “[fell] short of a finding defendant personally intended to kill.” (Id. at p. 323, fn. 7 [” ‘that the defendant . . . committed the murder [of the victim] was intentional and involved the infliction of torture’ “].) In those circumstances, we found that CALJIC No. 8.81.18 did not supply the missing intent-to-kill element because CALJIC No. 8.81.18 “required the jury to find ‘[t]he murder was intentional,’ but not necessarily to find [the aider and abettor] personally harbored the intent to kill.” (Pearson, at p. 323.)
“In determining whether a legally inadequate theory was conveyed to the jury here, we must ask whether there is a ‘ “reasonable likelihood” ’ that the jury understood the [relevant theory] in a legally impermissible manner. [Citation.] In doing so, we consider the instructions provided to the jury and counsel’s argument to the jury.” (People v. Canizales (2019) 7 Cal.5th 591, 613; see also Hardy, supra, 5 Cal.5th at p. 97.)
The instructions here informed the jury that it need not find that defendant intended to kill in order to find a special circumstance to be true unless an intent to kill is an element of the special circumstance, and that in order to find the torture-murder special circumstance to be true, it must find that “[t]he murder was intentional.” Where, as here, defendant was the actual killer, CALJIC No. 8.81.18’s requirement that “[t]he murder was intentional” adequately instructed the jury as to the intent-to-kill requirement of the torture-murder special circumstance. (Cf. People v. Pensinger (1991) 52 Cal.3d 1210, 1256 [“Further, defendant’s intent to kill was established by the jury when it found the torture-murder special circumstance true, as that allegation was that ‘[t]he murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture.’ ”]; accord, People v. Leach (1985) 41 Cal.3d 92, 108, 110.) In addition, the prosecutor correctly informed the jury that in order to find the torture-
D. Felony-Murder Special Circumstances
Defendant contends that the felony-murder special circumstances are unconstitutional because they do not require a finding of a culpable mental state when the defendant is the actual killer. “We have repeatedly held that when the defendant is the actual killer, neither intent to kill nor reckless indifference to life is a constitutionally required element of the felony-murder special circumstance.” (People v. Jackson (2016) 1 Cal.5th 269, 347; see People v. Watkins (2012) 55 Cal.4th 999, 1033–1034.) We decline to revisit this issue here, particularly since the jury found for purposes of another special circumstance that Willem’s murder was indeed intentional.
Admission of Defense Counsel’s Testimony Regarding Counsel’s “Strategies and Tactics”
After the guilt phase, the trial court declared a doubt as to defendant’s competency, suspended proceedings pursuant to
1. Competency Trial
a. Defense evidence
Five doctors testified on behalf of the defense. Dr. Dudley testified that defendant suffered from schizo-affective disorder and cognitive deficits and was not able to rationally cooperate with his counsel. Dr. Wu testified that defendant’s PET brain scan showed abnormalities that were consistent with schizophrenia, and Dr. Meth testified that defendant’s SPECT brain scan showed abnormalities, which were consistent with those shown in the PET scan. Dr. Shoba Sreenivasan, a clinical
In addition to these doctors, Canty testified. Before he did, the trial court evaluated whether he could testify without obtaining an attorney-client privilege waiver from defendant and to what extent the prosecutor could cross-examine him. The trial court concluded that Canty could testify without obtaining a waiver since it was not clear that defendant was capable of waiving the privilege. The trial court refrained, however, from defining the scope of permissible cross-examination at the outset, suggesting instead that counsel request to approach the bench should the testimony near Canty’s “strategy, motive, trial tactics.”
Canty began his direct testimony by describing his experience with capital cases and his relationship with defendant. He proceeded to chronicle his concerns about defendant’s decision-making in the case, detailing, among other things, defendant’s refusal to consider a potential plea deal, his desire to testify in the guilt and penalty phases, and his wish to present no mitigating evidence during the penalty phase. Canty testified that he did not believe defendant could rationally cooperate with him.
On cross-examination, Canty acknowledged that his obligation in representing defendant was to exhaust every legal remedy that avoids the death penalty. The prosecutor then inquired into prior occasions on which Canty had voiced
The prosecutor next asked whether the guilt phase jurors were “in limbo” pending the outcome of this competency trial, to which Canty confirmed that they were told to “potentially” come back later that month. The prosecutor asked, “And the effect of a finding of incompetency in this particular trial would mean that that jury would be discharged, would it not?” Canty responded, “That would be up to the Judge.” When the prosecutor directed Canty’s attention to a statutory provision (
The defense immediately asked to approach the bench. Outside the presence of the jury, the defense stated, “It sounds like we’re getting into Mr. Canty’s tactical decisions. I realize thus far it’s been expressed just in the abstract, but [it would] appear that we’re starting to focus in on it in this particular case.” The defense objected to the line of questioning as irrelevant and prejudicial. In response, the prosecutor explained that he intended to show that Canty’s motive for this competency trial was to obtain a new penalty phase jury. The trial court took the matter under submission. It ultimately ruled that the prosecutor could bring before the jury “this question of motivation” for the competency trial. The trial court instructed the prosecutor, however, that he otherwise should probably “stay away” from asking about “what’s going on in [Canty’s] mind.”
Back in the presence of the jury, the prosecutor returned to his question as to whether “[f]requently it’s a defense tactic in capital cases to seek a new jury for the penalty phase.” Canty testified, “I can’t answer that yes or no. I would think that depending upon the status of the case and a given case, I could conceive that counsel might wish to have another jury handle the penalty phase, and there would be a variety of reasons for that.” Asked about another capital case where he had tried the penalty phase before a jury, Canty confirmed that he had moved for a new penalty phase jury in that case. The prosecutor’s remaining, and relatively extensive, questioning regarded Canty’s concerns about defendant’s decision-making in the case.
b. Prosecution evidence
A forensic psychologist, Dr. Lee Guerra, testified that defendant was competent to stand trial and that he suspected defendant was malingering mental illness. A psychiatrist, Dr. Jose Moral, likewise testified that defendant was competent to stand trial and that he, too, suspected defendant was malingering mental illness.26
An investigator testified that when he served defendant with a court order for a handwriting exemplar, defendant refused to comply. The investigator believed that defendant understood the request but considered it to not be in his best
2. Discussion
a. Whether the testimony was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial
Only relevant evidence is admissible. (
“A trial court has ‘considerable discretion’ in determining the relevance of evidence. [Citation.] Similarly, the court has broad discretion under
Here, defendant argues that the testimony about Canty’s “strategy and tactics” was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. Defendant “recognizes that in many cases, evidence of a testifying witness’s motivation might be useful to assessing the credibility of the witness,” but he argues, with little explanation, that Canty “was a sworn officer of the court [and] testifying under penalty of perjury.” Defendant additionally argues that “the prosecutor’s theory that Mr. Canty’s state of mind would shed light on [defendant’s] mental health required the exact type of speculative inference condemned by this court.” In
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion under
b. Whether the testimony was protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrines
The attorney-client privilege protects from forced disclosure “a confidential communication between client and lawyer.” (
Defendant contends that admitting Canty’s testimony regarding his “tactical decisions” violated the attorney-client privilege. Canty’s challenged testimony, however, did not violate the attorney-client privilege because it related primarily to general legal principles and publicly available facts. For example, his testimony about the procedural effects of an incompetence finding or the potential advantages in impaneling a new penalty phase jury spoke to legal concepts in nonspecific terms and did not disclose the content of any confidential communications between Canty and defendant. (Cf. People v. Clark (2016) 63 Cal.4th 522, 603 [privilege not violated where expert witness testified regarding general legal concepts and “did not disclose any actual communication between defendant and his attorney”].)28 Similarly, his testimony about
As to the attorney work product doctrine,
Defendant contends that admitting Canty’s testimony regarding his “tactical decisions” not only violated the attorney-client privilege but also violated the absolute attorney work product doctrine. Defendant argues that admitting this testimony violated the attorney work product doctrine, regardless of whether the work product was reduced to writing or not, because “despite the arguably contrary language of California’s absolute work product statute, the privilege also applies to non-written work product.” Disagreeing, the Attorney General argues that “[t]he prosecutor’s questions to Canty did
We need not decide whether Canty’s oral testimony qualified as attorney work product or whether admitting it violated the attorney work product doctrine. Even if we assume that error occurred, it was not reversible. The Attorney General and defendant disagree as to which standard of prejudice applies here. Regardless, we would find it harmless under either standard. (See People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818; Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18.) As Canty acknowledged,
A. Admission of Evidence of Crimes Committed as a Juvenile
Over the defense’s objection, the trial court took judicial notice of 14 of defendant’s prior convictions. Eight of these convictions were for crimes that defendant committed when he was 17 years old. Defendant contends that considering those convictions violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This contention fails.
If a defendant committed an offense while under the age of 18, but was tried and convicted as an adult, “the conviction would be admissible at the penalty phase under section 190.3, factor (c).” (People v. Williams (2010) 49 Cal.4th 405, 462; People v. Pride (1992) 3 Cal.4th 195, 256–257.) Defendant acknowledges this but urges us to reconsider the issue based on the high court’s decisions in Roper v. Simmons (2005) 543 U.S. 551, Graham v. Florida (2010) 560 U.S. 48, Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. 460, and Hall v. Florida (2014) 572 U.S. 701. We recently rejected a similar argument premised on those same four decisions and held that presenting evidence of a defendant’s violent juvenile misconduct under
B. Admission of Evidence of Unadjudicated Offenses
The prosecution devoted part of its case in aggravation to unadjudicated criminal activity and presented testimony concerning four incidents involving Yenerall, Heynen, Kendrick, and Arnold. Defendant, however, contends that permitting Yenerall, Heynen, Kendrick, and Arnold to testify violated his state and federal constitutional rights to a reliable penalty phase, due process, a fair trial, and confrontation, and to present a defense because the state lost or destroyed the following evidence relating to those four incidents: information as to which suspect sketches Yenerall and Heynen saw; a photo lineup in which Yenerall recalled identifying defendant; the Steven Dyer photo lineup shown to Heynen; the Randy Winters photo lineup shown to Kendrick; and the Roger Egans photo lineup shown to Arnold.31 We disagree.
1. Background
a. Yenerall
Following the January 6, 1992 incident, Yenerall viewed a photo lineup in which she identified a man named Orlando Boone. That lineup was provided to the defense. She subsequently attended a live lineup that included Boone, but she did not identify him. After that, there is disagreement as to whether she viewed another photo lineup: She recalled viewing
In addition, she viewed a sketch of the suspect. The police composed several suspect sketches during the investigation, and it appears that those sketches were provided to the defense in this case. As to which sketch she personally saw, she did not recall, but Detective Lore testified that she saw one of two specific sketches. The defense argued, however, that “[a]lthough [Detective Lore] believed [Yenerall was shown] one of two composites in evidence, he did not know which one was shown to Yenerall and so that evidence is unavailable to the defendant.” Later, she identified defendant during a live lineup and at the preliminary hearing.
During the penalty phase of the trial, she identified defendant in the courtroom, testifying, “I’m certain” as to that identification. She also testified about previously identifying defendant during the live lineup and during the preliminary hearing. Regarding the live lineup, she explained that she did not write a number on the lineup identification card but instead directly informed one of the detectives about her identification and was “very certain” about it. On cross-examination, she admitted that her hesitancy to write down a number on the card reflected “[s]ome” uncertainty but explained that she chose not to write down a number because she was not obligated to do so.
Also on cross-examination, she confirmed that she previously viewed a photo lineup in which she identified an individual other than defendant and expressed “some great degree of certainty” as to that identification. Asked whether she identified an individual named Orlando Boone, she testified that
b. Heynen
Heynen testified that she saw at least four photo lineups after the January 21, 1992 incident. She recalled possibly pointing to someone as close in three lineups but did not recall identifying anyone. According to Detective Lore, Heynen later was not sure whether she actually saw that many lineups.
Detective Lore testified that Heynen viewed three photo lineups and one book containing parolee pictures. The first photo lineup, shown on March 12, 1992, included an individual named Steven Dyer. Detective Lore testified that Heynen did not identify Dyer in this lineup, but Detective Lore’s notes indicated that Heynen said, “it could be him.” This photo lineup was disassembled and not provided to the defense. The prosecution, however, provided the defense with a picture of Dyer, although it was not the picture used in the disassembled lineup. The same day as that lineup, she viewed a book of parolee pictures and said that an individual named Damon Cooper looked familiar. The book was provided to the defense. The second photo lineup included Boone. She identified another individual in that lineup, and the lineup was provided to the defense. The third photo lineup included defendant, and Heynen said, “it could be” him.
She also saw a suspect sketch and assisted the police in creating another sketch. As noted, it appears that the sketches were provided to the defense. The prosecutor declared that “all of the composites are available;” however, the defense argued that “like those shown to [Yenerall], the composites [shown to
During the penalty phase of the trial, Heynen identified defendant in the courtroom, testifying that she was “[v]ery certain” regarding her identification. She testified that she had previously identified defendant during a live lineup and during the preliminary hearing as well. On cross-examination, she said that she had previously viewed photo lineups on “[a]bout” four occasions. Asked whether on two of those occasions she selected anyone in the lineup, she responded, “That appeared to be close.” She explained that in those two selections, the individuals could have been the perpetrator, but she was not sure. Asked whether she selected a picture of defendant and said it could be him, she testified that she was never told whether any of the pictures were of defendant.
c. Kendrick
After the February 19, 1992 incident, Kendrick recalled viewing two photo lineups. He testified that he did not identify anyone in either of these lineups. However, Detective Lore testified that in one of these lineups, on March 26, 1992, Kendrick identified an individual named Randy Winters with a certainty of eight out of ten. This photo lineup was disassembled and not available to the defense. The prosecution, however, provided the defense with a copy of Winters’s DMV picture, which was not the picture used in the disassembled lineup.
In addition, Kendrick saw a sketch of the suspect and assisted the police in creating another sketch of the suspect, both of which were provided to the defense. Later, Kendrick identified defendant during a live lineup and at the preliminary hearing.
d. Arnold Andersen
Arnold Andersen testified that he viewed photo lineups on several occasions after the February 21, 1992 robbery, but he did not recall identifying anyone in them. Detective Lore testified that Arnold viewed two photo lineups. As to one of these lineups, Detective Lore testified that Arnold did not identify anyone but said that one individual was close. As to the other, Sergeant Howard Woods testified that Arnold said an individual named Roger Egans was the closest, with an 80 percent certainty, on May 21, 1992. Once Egans was eliminated as a suspect, this lineup was disassembled. The prosecution gave the defense a copy of Egans‘s DMV photo, but the photo was not the one used in the disassembled lineup.
Arnold also saw a sketch of the suspect that his wife, Sharyn, assisted in creating. He subsequently identified defendant during a live lineup and at the preliminary hearing as well.
During their penalty phase testimony, both Arnold and Sharyn identified defendant in the courtroom. They testified that they had previously identified defendant during a live lineup, too. Regarding the photo lineups, Arnold testified that he had previously viewed two or three photo lineups but did not identify anyone in them. The defense did not cross-examine either Arnold or Sharyn.
The prosecution originally filed an information that included charges relating to the January 6, January 21, February 19, and February 21, 1992 incidents.32 Following the preliminary hearing, the defense moved to strike identification testimony by certain witnesses under Brady v. Maryland (1963) 373 U.S. 83 (Brady) and California v. Trombetta (1984) 467 U.S. 479 (Trombetta). That motion was denied. The defense also moved to dismiss the information under
Later, the defense moved to sever the counts involving eyewitness identifications from the Willem, Christine C., Osburn, and Carole D. counts on the ground, inter alia, that severance was an appropriate sanction under
Before the penalty phase, the defense moved to exclude evidence of these severed, unadjudicated offenses or alternatively, to have them tried by another jury. The trial court found that the “confusion that underlies” the identifications could be brought before the jury without the missing evidence. The court also found that there was no “willful, purposeful, malicious intent on the part of the police in destroying evidence that could have been helpful to Mr. Miles,” explaining that “these were line-ups that were put together early in the investigation, substantially prior to Mr. Miles being a suspect,” and in those cases where the police followed up on photo lineups shown to the victims and “found that the person could not have been the perpetrator,” the police “probably felt that there was no longer a need to keep those photo line-ups intact.” The court denied the motion.
2. Discussion
The Attorney General frames defendant‘s contentions regarding the lost or destroyed evidence under Trombetta, supra, 467 U.S. 479. Defendant makes clear in his reply brief, however, that he does “not raise a Trombetta/Youngblood Due Process claim.” Rather, he raises an Eighth Amendment claim based on the heightened reliability standard in capital cases and Gardner v. Florida (1977) 430 U.S. 349 (Gardner), and he additionally asserts violations of his state and federal constitutional rights to due process, a fair trial, confrontation and to present a defense. In light of defendant‘s express
Contrary to defendant‘s argument, the circumstances here are unlike those in Gardner, supra, 430 U.S. 349, on which defendant heavily relies. In Gardner, the high court vacated a death sentence where the trial court sentenced the defendant to death due in part to information in a presentence investigation report, portions of which were provided to the trial court but not disclosed to the defendant. (Id. at pp. 351, 353, 356, 362.) By contrast, no evidence in this case was provided to and relied on by the trial judge, but not disclosed to the defense.
Indeed, we have previously rejected an argument relying on Gardner, supra, 430 U.S. 349 in circumstances like those here. In People v. Rodrigues (1994) 8 Cal.4th 1060, 1160-1161, the defendant claimed that he was deprived of his right to a reliable sentencing determination and a fair opportunity to confront and rebut evidence against him because certain evidence related to an unadjudicated charge had been lost, including photos shown to the victim. We held that despite this lost evidence, there was no unfairness in admitting evidence regarding the unadjudicated charge. (Id. at pp. 1162-1163.) Here, as in Rodrigues, we conclude that the loss of evidence did not deprive defendant of a fair trial or a reliable sentencing determination.
First, as to the suspect sketches viewed by Yenerall and Heynen, defendant argues on appeal that “although various composite sketches were available, since police could not recall which sketch had been shown to [Yenerall or Heynen], whatever value there was in the sketches was gone.” The defense, however, implicitly acknowledged having received the suspect
As to the remaining missing evidence (the Dyer, Winters, and Egans photo lineups), defendant‘s contentions pose a closer call but ultimately, too, fall short. There is conflicting testimony as to whether Heynen, Kendrick, and Arnold made any identifications in the lineups, and the lineups took place before defendant was a suspect. In addition, the prosecutor provided the defense with pictures of Dyer, Winters, and Egans, and while those pictures were not comparable to the missing lineups, the defense could ask Heynen, Kendrick, and Arnold about those pictures and about their identifications. Indeed, the defense cross-examined Heynen about having viewed photo lineups on “[a]bout” four occasions and having selected persons who “appeared to be close” on two of those occasions; the defense had the opportunity but declined to cross-examine Kendrick or Arnold. In these circumstances, we find no error and conclude
Even assuming for the sake of argument that admitting this testimony was error, it was not reversible. “[E]rror in the admission of evidence under
C. Admission of Victim Impact Evidence Regarding Prior Crime
Over the defense‘s objection, Bridget E. testified about the effects of the June 16, 1992 incident on her health, career, and personality. Defendant contends that the trial court erred by admitting her testimony because, according to defendant, admitting victim impact evidence for prior crimes under
We have previously found unpersuasive the five out-of-state decisions upon which defendant relies. (See People v. Davis (2009) 46 Cal.4th 539, 618.) We have also disagreed that “the textual distinction between
D. Admission of Victim Impact Evidence Related to Capital Crime
Over defendant‘s objection, the trial court admitted victim impact evidence related to Willem‘s murder consisting of testimony from her family members, a short videotape depicting her singing, and a photograph of her that resembled how she looked around the time of her death. We have previously permitted the admission of similar victim impact evidence (see, e.g., People v. Brady (2010) 50 Cal.4th 547, 577-579 [admission of family member testimony and four-minute videotape depicting victim at family celebration]; Vines, supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 888 [admission of videotape depicting victim singing and dancing]), and defendant does not argue that there
E. Asserted Juror Misconduct
Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it declined to discharge Juror No. 12 after he saw newspaper headlines about defendant‘s competency trial. We disagree. We conclude that there was no substantial likelihood of juror bias and there was no violation of defendant‘s federal or state constitutional rights.
1. Background
After the trial court declared a doubt as to defendant‘s competency and suspended proceedings, the trial court met individually with each of the guilt phase jurors and informed them that there was an issue — about which the court could not reveal the details — that would cause a significant delay before beginning the penalty phase. The court individually admonished each of the jurors to avoid discussing or reading about the case in the interim. When the court met individually with Juror No. 12, the court instructed Juror No. 12, “[P]lease don‘t discuss what we‘ve talked about with any of the other jurors. And if there‘s anything in the newspaper about this case, please don‘t read that.”
The trial court and counsel inquired further into Juror No. 12‘s responses. Juror No. 12 explained that he had seen “[p]robably like two or three” newspaper headlines. Asked whether he “[j]ust saw the headlines, recognized it was about the case, and then didn‘t read anything further?” he replied, “That‘s right.” He said that there was not anything about what he had read that caused him to come to any opinions or conclusions or that would affect or influence his ultimate decision in this case. He acknowledged, however, that from these headlines, he knew that a competency trial took place and knew its result. Asked about his reaction to this information, he responded, “All I knew is that I would be coming back. That‘s about all I thought about it.” Asked to explain, he said that he had assumed he probably would not be returning if the competency trial had ended differently because the competency trial “was a part of the sentencing or whatever.” He confirmed that he had not discussed any of this information with anybody else.
2. Discussion
“A defendant accused of a crime has a constitutional right to a trial by unbiased, impartial jurors.” (People v. Nesler (1997) 16 Cal.4th 561, 578 (Nesler).) “Juror misconduct, such as the receipt of information about a party or the case that was not part of the evidence received at trial, leads to a presumption that the defendant was prejudiced thereby and may establish juror bias.” (Ibid.) Even a juror‘s “inadvertent receipt of information that had not been presented in court falls within the general category of ‘juror misconduct.’ ” (Id. at p. 579.)
“[W]hen misconduct involves the receipt of information from extraneous sources, the effect of such receipt is judged by a review of the entire record, and may be found to be nonprejudicial. The verdict will be set aside only if there appears a substantial likelihood of juror bias. Such bias can appear in two different ways. First, we will find bias if the
In reviewing the trial court‘s ruling, “[w]e accept the trial court‘s credibility determinations and findings on questions of historical fact if supported by substantial evidence. [Citations.] Whether prejudice arose from juror misconduct, however, is a mixed question of law and fact subject to an appellate court‘s independent determination.” (Nesler, supra, 16 Cal.4th at p. 582.)
We need not decide whether juror misconduct occurred here because, in any event, we find no substantial likelihood of juror bias. (See People v. Thomas (2012) 53 Cal.4th 771, 819.) The headlines were not so prejudicial in and of themselves that they were inherently and substantially likely to have influenced a juror during the penalty phase. Although the precise content of the headlines is not clear from the record, nothing suggests that they were inflammatory or biased in their presentation of the facts, or that they conveyed additional information about the
Nor was it substantially likely that Juror No. 12 was “actually biased” against defendant. Defendant does not contend that Juror No. 12 was actually biased, and nothing in the record suggests such bias existed. Mindful of the trial court‘s admonitions to avoid news coverage of the case, Juror No. 12 did not read any newspaper articles about the case but promptly informed the trial court that he had seen a few headlines. He made clear that he did not form any opinions or conclusions based on the headlines, nor did he discuss them with anyone. His only reaction to the information was that he “would be coming back. That‘s about all [he] thought about it.” The trial court found his representations credible, and substantial evidence supports this finding. (See People v. Stanley (2006) 39 Cal.4th 913, 951 [accepting credibility determinations regarding juror‘s recollection of newspaper article]; see also In re Carpenter, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 657 [juror not discussing
Having found no substantial likelihood of juror bias, we reject defendant‘s assertion that Juror No. 12‘s exposure to these headlines impeded his ability to fairly weigh defendant‘s mitigating evidence in violation of his federal constitutional rights. Defendant characterizes Caldwell v. Mississippi (1985) 472 U.S. 320 as instructive. In Caldwell, the high court vacated a death judgment where the prosecutor had “urged the jury not to view itself as determining whether the defendant would die, because a death sentence would be reviewed for correctness by the State Supreme Court.” (Id. at p. 323.) The high court has “since read Caldwell as ‘relevant only to certain types of comment[s] — those that mislead the jury as to its role in the sentencing process in a way that allows the jury to feel less responsible than it should for the sentencing decision.’ ” (Romano v. Oklahoma (1994) 512 U.S. 1, 9; see also In re Carpenter, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 649 [discussing Romano as limiting Caldwell].)
Here, there was no evidence to suggest that Juror No. 12 was unable to consider defendant‘s mitigating evidence or felt any less responsible for making a penalty determination after seeing these headlines — much less that he was misled to believe himself to be so. (See People v. Montes (2014) 58 Cal.4th 809, 896 [even assuming the juror committed misconduct by consulting religious passages, “those passages did not lessen the juror‘s personal sense of responsibility by shifting the decision to some other entity“].) We thus conclude that the trial court did not err.
F. Instruction to Alternate Jurors
The trial court excused two of the seated guilt phase jurors and replaced them with two alternate jurors before the penalty phase began. The court then instructed the jury that “[f]or the purposes of this penalty phase of the trial, the alternate jurors must accept as having been proved beyond a reasonable doubt those guilty verdicts and true findings rendered by the jury in the guilt phase of this trial.”34 Defendant objected to having the two alternate jurors try the penalty phase but did not object to this specific instruction. He now contends that this instruction violated his federal and state constitutional rights to a fair
Assuming defendant‘s claim was not forfeited, it fails on the merits. (See
Nor do we find People v. Kaurish (1990) 52 Cal.3d 648, 708 to be inconsistent, as defendant contends. In Kaurish, the defendant claimed that a replacement juror should have been instructed at the penalty phase that she “was not bound by the other jurors’ earlier determination of guilt, but could vote against the death penalty if she doubted defendant‘s guilt.” (Ibid.) We rejected this claim, finding that the replacement juror was instructed about considering lingering doubt as a mitigating factor, that instruction “made it clear that she could vote against the death penalty if she disagreed with the guilt phase verdict, and no further instruction was necessary.” (Ibid.) This concept of lingering doubt, however, is distinct from and consistent with the jury‘s obligation to accept the guilt phase
In short, we discern no error in the trial court‘s instructions here.
VI. OTHER ISSUES
A. Challenge to California‘s Death Penalty Law as Not Adequately Narrowing the Class of Death-Penalty Eligible Defendants
Defendant urges that California‘s death penalty law violates the Eighth Amendment because it does not sufficiently narrow the class of death-eligible defendants, based on statistics drawn primarily from published decisions of this court and the Court of Appeal, as well as unpublished decisions of the Court of Appeal, First District, between 1988 and 1992. We have repeatedly rejected similar statistics-based arguments claiming that the multiplicity of the statute‘s special circumstances fails to sufficiently narrow the class of death-eligible defendants. (See, e.g., People v. Beames (2007) 40 Cal.4th 907, 934; People v. Vieira (2005) 35 Cal.4th 264, 303-304; People v. Jones (2003) 30 Cal.4th 1084, 1127-1128.) Defendant offers no persuasive reason to reconsider this issue.
Defendant raises numerous challenges to California‘s death penalty law that we have repeatedly rejected and continue to reject as follows.
C. Cumulative Prejudice
Defendant contends the combined errors require reversal of his convictions and death sentence even if the errors are not prejudicial when considered individually. We have assumed errors but found no prejudice. Considering these assumed errors altogether, we conclude that reversal is not warranted.
VII. DISPOSITION
We affirm the judgment.
GROBAN, J.
We Concur:
CANTIL-SAKAUYE, C. J.
CHIN, J.
CORRIGAN, J.
CUÉLLAR, J.
KRUGER, J.
Defendant Johnny Duane Miles, a black man, was sentenced to death for raping and murdering Nancy Willem, a white woman. During jury selection, the prosecutor removed the first three black jurors available for peremptory challenge. Miles objected to the strikes as racially motivated under Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 (Batson) and People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258. The prosecutor gave reasons for each strike, and the trial court rejected Miles‘s Batson claim.
At the time of the ruling, the prosecutor had used three of his first six peremptory strikes to remove every black juror in the jury box who had not been excused for cause. At the end of jury selection, no black juror was seated on the main panel. Among the six alternate jurors, only one was black. As a result, the black defendant in this case, charged with raping and murdering a white woman, was tried and convicted by a jury that included no black member.
On appeal, Miles challenges the prosecutor‘s strikes of two black prospective jurors, Kevin C. and Simeon G. I agree that Miles has not shown purposeful discrimination with respect to the strike of Kevin C. in light of his ambivalent responses regarding the death penalty and the two other reasons given for his excusal. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 37-52.) But the record shows that each of the prosecutor‘s stated reasons for striking Simeon G. was implausible or unsupported by the facts. I would
I.
Today‘s opinion accords deference to the trial court‘s ruling on the Batson motion, but it is unclear what this court is deferring to. “A trial court‘s conclusions are entitled to deference only when the court made a ‘sincere and reasoned effort to evaluate the nondiscriminatory justifications offered.’ ” (Gutierrez, supra, 2 Cal.5th at p. 1159.) A “reasoned” attempt requires the trial court to “reject [the prosecutor‘s] reason or ask the prosecutor to explain further” when the reason is “not borne out by the record.” (Id. at p. 1172.) Where “the prosecutor‘s reason[s] for [the contested] strike[s are] not self-evident and the record is void of any explication from the court, we cannot find . . . that the court made a reasoned attempt to determine whether the justification was a credible one.” (Ibid.)
Here, the trial court expressly acknowledged that the prosecutor‘s proffered reasons for striking Kevin C. and Simeon G. were not self-evident. During discussion of the Batson motion, the trial judge told the prosecutor: “I don‘t understand [the strikes] as to [Kevin C.] and as to [Simeon G.]. You‘ll [have to] explain those.” After hearing the prosecutor‘s reasons, the court concluded: “As I indicated, as to [another struck juror], I understand [the prosecutor‘s] concern there. As to [Kevin C.] and [Simeon G.], I think it‘s certainly not as obvious, but I
At one point, the court did ask the prosecutor to clarify his explanation for striking Simeon G. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 26 [” ‘His answer being that if he had a feeling the defendant was not guilty, that was the answer that bothered you?’ “].) But the court did not probe any of the prosecutor‘s stated reasons for the strikes, even though they were difficult to reconcile with the record, as discussed below. Nor did the court explain why it credited the prosecutor‘s justifications. It merely made a global finding that the stated reasons were “valid” and “legitimate.” (See maj. opn., ante, at p. 31 [“the trial court could have done more to make a fuller record and itself acknowledged it was making a somewhat close call“].)
Our requirement of a ” ‘sincere and reasoned effort to evaluate the nondiscriminatory justifications offered’ ” (Gutierrez, supra, 2 Cal.5th at p. 1159) demands more than what is apparent from the record here. I do not doubt that the trial court was sincere and listened to the parties’ arguments. But because the record does not indicate whether it engaged in a reasoned evaluation of the prosecutor‘s explanations for the strikes, I see no basis for deference to the trial court‘s ruling.
II.
In addressing Miles‘s Batson claim, our task is to determine whether “it was more likely than not” that the prosecutor‘s strikes were racially motivated. (Johnson, supra, 545 U.S. at p. 170.) It is important to keep in mind the applicable standard of proof. The “more likely than not” standard does not require a fact to be established beyond a reasonable doubt, nor does it call for “a finding of high
“The function of a standard of proof is to instruct the fact finder concerning the degree of confidence our society deems necessary in the correctness of factual conclusions for a particular type of adjudication, to allocate the risk of error between the litigants, and to indicate the relative importance attached to the ultimate decision.” (Conservatorship of Wendland (2001) 26 Cal.4th 519, 546.) In the Batson context, the “more likely than not” standard reflects the “inherent uncertainty present in inquiries of discriminatory purpose.” (Johnson, supra, 545 U.S. at p. 172.) The standard “is not designed to elicit a definitive finding of deceit or racism. Instead, it defines a level of risk that courts cannot tolerate in light of the serious harms that racial discrimination in jury selection causes to the defendant, to the excluded juror, and to ‘public confidence in the fairness of our system of justice.’ ” (Gutierrez, supra, 2 Cal.5th at pp. 1182-1183 (conc. opn. of Liu, J.), quoting Batson, supra, 476 U.S. at p. 87.) Miles has met this standard with respect to the strike of Simeon G.
At the time of jury selection, Simeon G. was a 24-year-old forklift driver. He had studied business for three years in college and had plans to continue his education in the future. Simeon G. had characteristics that might be considered favorable to the prosecution. On the questionnaire, he wrote that his father was a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and that he had considered becoming a police officer. He indicated that he “favor[ed] the death penalty” and would have
The prosecutor gave several reasons for striking Simeon G. The first was that Simeon G. “made statements on his questionnaire how he likes his opinions over others.”
When asked on the questionnaire whether he would describe himself as a leader or a follower, Simeon G. wrote that he thought of himself as a “leader” because “I like my opinion over other people‘s.” In People v. Gutierrez (2002) 28 Cal.4th 1083, we said that a juror‘s comment that “he would not be influenced by anyone‘s opinion but his own” gave rise to a reasonable concern that the juror “would not be able to consider the opinions of his fellow jurors.” (Id. at p. 1125.) But Simeon G. said that he liked his opinion over other people‘s, not that he would not consider other people‘s views. His statement is actually somewhat of a tautology: Everyone likes his or her opinion over other people‘s; to have an “opinion” is to prefer that view to other views. Just because a person favors one view does not mean he or she “might have difficulty considering other opinions and deliberating with fellow jurors.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 53.) Indeed, Simeon G.‘s other responses on the questionnaire indicate that he was interested in working with other jurors to reach a verdict. When asked how he felt about working with 11 other jurors to make a decision, he wrote: “I believe it would be very interesting.” When asked whether he
The prosecutor did not ask Simeon G. about these responses, nor did the prosecutor question him or any other jurors about their ability to work with others. As the high court has observed, ” ‘[t]he State‘s failure to engage in any meaningful voir dire examination on a subject the State alleges it is concerned about is evidence suggesting that the explanation is a sham and a pretext for discrimination.’ ” (Miller-El v. Dretke (2005) 545 U.S. 231, 246 (Miller-El).) Today‘s opinion speculates that the prosecutor might have refrained from questioning Simeon G. about this topic because “asking Simeon G. during voir dire — in front of the other prospective jurors — to elaborate on his questionnaire response would have forced him to explain why he believes that his opinion is preferable to the opinions of other people, such as those seated around him.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 54.) But I see no reason why such inquiry would have been unproductive or more awkward than questioning on the death penalty, race relations, or other sensitive yet routine topics that call on jurors to explain their views and, at least implicitly, disapprove or cast doubt on the views of fellow jurors.
The prosecutor‘s explanation is even more suspicious in light of the fact that he accepted Juror No. 1, who also described herself as a “leader” and wrote, “I like to make my own decisions.” Today‘s opinion attempts to distinguish “decisions” from “opinions” in parsing the responses of Juror No. 1 and Simeon G. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 54-55.) But the key point is that Juror No. 1‘s response gave no more indication than Simeon G.‘s response that she would consider other people‘s
The prosecutor‘s second reason for striking Simeon G. was that “he made a statement on his questionnaire basically saying if I have a feeling he didn‘t do it, he‘s not guilty. And he had crossed out the word doubt, which led me to believe that he certainly wasn‘t going to base it on evidence.”
When asked on the questionnaire whether he could follow the reasonable doubt instruction, Simeon G. checked “yes” and wrote: “If I have any doubt feeling that [the defendant] might not have done it, he[‘s] innocent.” During the Batson hearing, the prosecutor noted that Simeon G. originally wrote “doubt” on his questionnaire response, then crossed it out and replaced it with “feeling.” According to the prosecutor, this suggested that Simeon G. would have relied “on a hunch, or a feeling” instead of evidence to decide Miles‘s guilt. While acknowledging that Simeon G. “explained [his questionnaire response] differently in court,” the prosecutor said he was “not sure that [Simeon G.‘s] responses in court should prevail over the answers he gave on his questionnaire.” The prosecutor said he was especially concerned about those responses in light of the fact that Simeon G. “didn‘t show up for court” that morning and appeared in the
Considering the record as a whole, I do not find the prosecutor‘s stated concern very plausible. Simeon G. first wrote on the questionnaire: “If I have any doubt that [the defendant] might not have done it, he[‘s] innocent.” On a moment‘s reflection, it is clear that the double negative makes no sense: If a juror had doubt that the defendant might not have committed the crime, then the juror‘s inclination would be to find guilt, not innocence. It is unsurprising that Simeon G., most likely recognizing the error, crossed out “doubt” and replaced it with a different word, “feeling“: “If I have any feeling that [the defendant] might not have done it, he[‘s] innocent.” To draw an inference that Simeon G. intended this to convey that he would rely on his feelings as opposed to evidence to decide the defendant‘s guilt seems like a stretch.
But even assuming Simeon G.‘s response was ambiguous, the prosecutor probed this issue during voir dire, and Simeon G.‘s answers clarified any ambiguity. The prosecutor said: “In your questionnaire, you used the phrase that if you have a feeling that the defendant was [not] involved, that you‘d find him not guilty. . . . You‘d written ‘doubt’ and crossed out and written the word ‘feeling.’ . . . I‘m trying to understand what you meant by that.” Simeon G. responded: “Well, I think what I was trying to say, if I‘m correct, is that if the evidence showed that there wasn‘t — that there was some reasonable doubt, then I probably would not accuse him, because of the fact that, myself being in the same situation or anybody, I think that if the evidence didn‘t totally prove that I did it, then there is some doubt. . . . So it wasn‘t so much a feeling as it was if the evidence didn‘t show.” The prosecutor asked: “Okay. So you would base
Today‘s opinion says that when faced with inconsistent responses, the prosecutor is not obligated to accept the least objectionable one. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 57-58.) That is true, but it is not the situation here. At voir dire, the prosecutor expressly said that his questioning of Simeon G. was intended to clarify the “doubt feeling” issue, and Simeon G. — in response to an open-ended, non-leading question posed by the prosecutor (“I‘m trying to understand what you meant by that“) — clarified that he would make decisions based on “the evidence,” not a “feeling.” His voir dire answers, given under oath, left no ambiguity about the issue. The court makes much of Simeon G.‘s comments that he did not “quite remember” his questionnaire response and could not tell the prosecutor “what [he] actually meant totally” by it. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 59.) But what those statements show is that he was attempting to be a scrupulous juror. When asked to explain the “doubt feeling” issue, Simeon G. was careful to qualify that he did not recall his exact response on the questionnaire because he did not have a copy to review during voir dire. These comments in no way undermined Simeon G.‘s clear and consistent assertions that he would rely on evidence rather than his feelings to reach a verdict.
Moreover, the rest of Simeon G.‘s questionnaire indicated that he would have carefully considered the evidence presented in the case. When asked whether he could be a fair and impartial juror, he wrote: “I‘m open to objectively listening to evidence from both sides to decide a fair verdict.” When asked if he could follow the instruction that jurors should not draw any conclusions from the fact that a defendant does not testify, he
Today‘s opinion says the prosecutor was not required to accept Simeon G.‘s sworn voir dire responses at face value. At the Batson hearing, the prosecutor said “this is an individual who the Court personally tracked down this morning. . . . I would be concerned about his responses in light of the fact that he was single-handedly hunted down to be here this afternoon.” In evaluating this statement, today‘s opinion explains that “[t]he trial court was ’ “best situated” ’ to assess Simeon G.‘s responses in court and the prosecutor‘s stated concern in light of those responses.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 60.)
But what exactly is the court deferring to? The trial court made no specific findings regarding Simeon G.‘s responses or demeanor when it denied the Batson motion. Nor did it ask the prosecutor to explain why Simeon G.‘s tardiness to court would cast doubt on the credibility of his voir dire answers. The court only asked the prosecutor, “His answer being that if he had a
As to Simeon G.‘s tardiness, a bit of context is important. The record shows there had been a miscommunication in the jury room, which may have caused several jurors not to appear in court that morning. After the court called Simeon G.‘s workplace, he immediately called back and explained that he was confused and thought he was supposed to come the next day. Simeon G. then appeared in the afternoon for voir dire. The prosecutor was aware of this mix-up at the time of the Batson hearing, and there was no suggestion that the incident resulted from willful conduct by Simeon G. Nor was there anything in his background or questionnaire that suggested untrustworthiness. To be sure, “having a judge call your workplace to locate you and have you come to court is unusual.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 61, fn. 14.) And it would be natural to infer that Simeon G. perhaps felt embarrassed when he appeared in court. But it is not clear why the incident would have cast doubt on the veracity of Simeon G.‘s statement at voir dire that he would reach a verdict based on “the evidence” and not a “feeling,” especially in light of the consistent responses on his juror questionnaire.
The prosecutor‘s third reason for striking Simeon G. was that “he was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict.” Simeon G. indicated on the questionnaire that he was not upset by the O.J. Simpson verdict but did not explain why. He also wrote that he
In evaluating this reason, it must be said at the outset that exercising peremptory strikes based on jurors’ attitudes toward the O.J. Simpson case — in the capital trial of a black man accused of murdering a white woman, occurring just three years after the Simpson verdict — seems like playing with fire. At the time of Miles‘s trial, it would have been hard to think of any recent case in the American justice system more sensational and racially polarizing than the Simpson trial. (See O.J.: Made in America (ESPN Films 2016); Toobin, The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson (1996).) Amicus curiae NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) cites a poll taken in 1995, when the Simpson case was decided, finding that 22% of black Americans and 76% of white Americans believed Simpson was guilty of murder. (See De Pinto et al., Poll: Only 27 Percent of Americans Think O.J. Simpson Will Regain Celebrity Status (Sept. 29, 2017) CBS News.) The Attorney General argues that the racial disparity was not so significant by the time of Miles‘s trial and cites a different poll finding that 45% of black Americans in 2007 and 57% in 2015 believed Simpson was guilty. (See Ross, Two decades later, black and white Americans finally agree on O.J. Simpson‘s guilt, Wash. Post (Mar. 4, 2016).) But the figures cited by LDF are more relevant because jury selection in this case occurred in 1998. Those figures are
Thus, at the time of Miles‘s trial, a practice of striking jurors who said they were not upset by the Simpson verdict would have resulted in disproportionate removal of black jurors. Although such disparate impact “does not turn the prosecutor‘s actions into a per se violation of the Equal Protection Clause” (Hernandez v. New York (1991) 500 U.S. 352, 361), it can be considered “evidence that the prosecutor‘s stated reason constitutes a pretext for racial discrimination” (id. at p. 363). There is nothing wrong with probing prospective jurors’ views about DNA or circumstantial evidence in a murder trial. But surely there are less racially charged ways of doing so.
Also relevant is the fact that the prosecutor did not question Simeon G. or any other prospective juror about the Simpson verdict during voir dire. (Cf. maj. opn., ante, at p. 63 [“the credibility of the prosecutor‘s concern here is undermined to some degree by the prosecutor‘s failure to ask Simeon G. or other prospective jurors about the O.J. Simpson verdict during voir dire“].) The prosecutor‘s lack of questioning is especially suspicious as to Simeon G. When asked on the questionnaire whether he was upset by the Simpson verdict, Simeon G. simply checked “no” without explanation. At the Batson hearing, the prosecutor said his main concern with this response was that it indicated Simeon G. might be skeptical about DNA evidence. But the prosecutor never asked Simeon G. whether his response to the O.J. Simpson question was related to his views on DNA evidence. Nor did he ask Simeon G. or any other prospective juror about DNA evidence.
Today‘s opinion finds these comparisons “relevant and probative” but ultimately downplays their importance by pointing out differences between the comparator jurors and Simeon G. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 65.) The court notes that Juror No. 6 and Alternate Juror No. 5, while similar to Simeon G. on the O.J. Simpson question, did not indicate that they might have difficulty considering other people‘s opinions or that they might rely on their feelings to reach a verdict. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 65-66.)
But the high court has expressly rejected this view. (See Miller-El, supra, 545 U.S. at p. 247, fn. 6 [“None of our cases announces a rule that no comparison is probative unless the situation of the individuals compared is identical in all respects, and there is no reason to accept one. . . . A per se rule that a defendant cannot win a Batson claim unless there is an exactly identical white juror would leave Batson inoperable; potential jurors are not products of a set of cookie cutters.“].) In several cases addressing Batson claims, “[t]he high court has repeatedly drawn inferences of discrimination from comparative juror analysis without regard to whether the comparator jurors matched the struck juror in every respect identified by the prosecutor.” (Hardy, supra, 5 Cal.5th at p. 119 (dis. opn. of Liu, J.) [citing cases].)
Today‘s opinion says “[t]he fact that the high court found single-issue comparisons to be highly probative of discrimination within the circumstances of a particular case is not inconsistent with our analysis here, which . . . recognizes that such comparisons are relevant but ultimately concludes, within all of the relevant circumstances, that substantial evidence supports the trial court‘s denial of defendant‘s
III.
With today‘s decision, this court extends its record of not having found Batson error involving the peremptory strike of a black juror in more than 30 years — despite the fact that “[t]he high court‘s opinion [in Batson] responded specifically to the pernicious history of African Americans being excluded from jury service, calling such exclusion ‘a primary example of the evil the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to cure.’ ” (Hardy, supra, 5 Cal.5th at p. 124 (dis. opn. of Liu, J.), quoting Batson, supra, 476 U.S. at p. 85; see People v. Johnson (2019) 8 Cal.5th 475, 534-536 (dis. opn. of Liu, J.).)
Like this case, several of our recent cases had “definite racial overtones” that ” ‘raise[] heightened concerns about whether the prosecutor‘s challenge was racially motivated.’ ” (Hardy, supra, 5 Cal.5th at p. 78 [black man convicted of raping and murdering a white woman]; see People v. Armstrong (2019) 6 Cal.5th 735, 765 [same]; People v. Harris (2013) 57 Cal.4th 804, 863 (conc. opn. of Liu, J.) [same]; People v. Johnson, supra, 8 Cal.5th at p. 507 [black man convicted of murdering a white man and raping a white woman].) Like this case, some of our recent cases involved peremptory strikes that resulted in no black jurors serving on the main panel. (See Hardy, at p. 78;
Here, the prosecutor‘s reasons for striking Simeon G. do not withstand scrutiny. Although I cannot be certain that the prosecutor struck Simeon G. because of his race, certainty is not the standard. Considering all relevant circumstances, I believe it was more likely than not that the strike was improperly motivated. Because the trial court erred in denying Miles‘s Batson claim, his convictions must be reversed.
LIU, J.
Notes
The dissent asserts that the trial court here “expressly acknowledged that the prosecutor‘s proffered reasons for striking Kevin C. and Simeon G. were not self-evident.” (Dis. opn., post, at p. 2.) We disagree. The fact that the trial court did not “understand” the strikes as to Kevin C. and Simeon G. -- before the prosecutor provided his reasons for them -- and asked the prosecutor to explain those strikes does not mean that the prosecutor‘s reasons, once provided, were not self-evident. Nor do we require that the prosecutor‘s reasons be “obvious.” Rather, the prosecutor‘s reasons, once provided, “were either self-explanatory or were explained at the hearing.” (People v. Smith (2018) 4 Cal.5th 1134, 1162 (Smith).) For this reason, Gutierrez‘s reasoning is “inapplicable here.” (Ibid.)