Opinion ID: 3047718
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Arizona Supreme Court’s Independent

Text: Review of Capital Cases As in Beam, we look both to Arizona’s statutes and its case law to determine the parameters of Arizona’s independent review of capital cases. “In capital cases, [the Arizona Supreme Court] independently examine[s] the record to determine the existence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the propriety of imposing the death penalty.” Comer, 799 P.2d at 348 (Ariz. 1990) (emphasis added). This independent review specifically encompasses review of the sentencing hearing and record as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances to ensure, among other things, that “proper procedures were followed.” State v. Hill, 848 P.2d 1375, 1388 (Ariz. 1993) (citation omitted) (reviewing whether the sentencing judge had an impermissible conflict that required his recusal, as We have held, however, that Teague does not apply to matters of federal habeas jurisdiction, including our exhaustion analysis. Coe v. Thurman, 922 F.2d 528, 533-34 (9th Cir. 1991). COMER v. SCHRIRO 3159 well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances); accord State v. Stuard, 863 P.2d 881, 896-97 (Ariz. 1993) (undertaking a “painstaking” examination of the record to determine if the death penalty was erroneously imposed); State v. Bible, 858 P.2d 1152, 1206 (Ariz. 1993); see also State v. Watson, 628 P.2d 943, 946 (Ariz. 1981) (noting that the Arizona Supreme Court painstakingly reviews death sen- tences to ensure the punishment is not inflicted in an arbitrary and capricious manner). The Arizona Supreme Court also ensures that the death penalty was not “imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factors.” State v. Richmond, 560 P.2d 41, 51 (Ariz. 1977), overruled on other grounds by State v. Salazar, 844 P.2d 566 (Ariz. 1992); accord State v. Woratzeck, 657 P.2d 865, 871 (Ariz. 1982). This independent review process includes scrutiny of federal constitutional claims. State v. Brewer, 826 P.2d 783, 790-91 (1992) (undertaking independent review because, among other matters, the Arizona Supreme Court must determine that under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments the death penalty is not being inflicted in an arbitrary and capricious fashion). As the Arizona Supreme Court noted in explaining its review, “[i]f the record reveals that the trial court, for whatever reason, improperly sentenced a defendant to death, we must overturn that sentence.” Id. at 791 (emphasis added).15