Opinion ID: 1156873
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: constitutional challenges to the utah death penalty statute

Text: Other issues raised by defense counsel challenging the constitutionality of the Utah statute, with the exceptions discussed below, have been raised and disposed of in previous cases contrary to the defendant's contentions. Specifically, the following issues have been addressed and rejected: (1) unconstitutionality of the death penalty scheme because it allows either too much discretion or unguided discretion in the imposition of the death penalty, see State v. Tillman, 750 P.2d 546, 572 (Utah 1987); State v. Wood, 648 P.2d 71, 81-83 (Utah), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 988, 103 S.Ct. 341, 74 L.Ed.2d 383 (1982); State v. Brown, 607 P.2d 261, 268-71 (Utah 1980); see also Andrews v. Shulsen, 802 F.2d 1256, 1260-62 (10th Cir.1986), aff'g, Andrews v. Shulsen, 600 F. Supp. 408, 420-24 (D.Utah 1984), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 1091, 99 L.Ed.2d 253 (1988); Pierre v. Shulsen, 802 F.2d 1282, 1283 & n. 2 (10th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1033, 107 S.Ct. 1964, 95 L.Ed.2d 536 (1987); (2) lack of appellate proportionality review, see Tillman, 750 P.2d at 561-62; Wood, 648 P.2d at 77; State v. Pierre, 572 P.2d 1338, 1345 (Utah 1977), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 882, 99 S.Ct. 219, 58 L.Ed.2d 194 (1978); (3) failure to specify the aggravating circumstances found to warrant imposition of the death penalty, see Andrews v. Shulsen, 802 F.2d at 1261; see also Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262, 265 n. 1, 96 S.Ct. 2950, 2953 n. 1, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976); Brown, 607 P.2d at 268; State v. Pierre, 572 P.2d at 1348; (4) unfettered prosecutorial discretion (a variation of (1) above), see Tillman, 750 P.2d at 562, where the Court rejected a broad claim of disproportionality including an assertion of specific prosecutorial abuse in charging a capital offense. See also Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 199, 224-26, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2937, 2948-50, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976) (opinions of Stewart, J., and White, J.).