Opinion ID: 1202760
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Failure to Exercise Discretion to Strike the Special Circumstance Findings

Text: Defendant contends the court committed reversible error by failing to expressly consider at the statutory penalty-modification hearing whether it should strike the special circumstances findings on its own motion in furtherance of justice under Penal Code section 1385 in order to reduce his sentence to imprisonment with possibility of parole. He argues that under the 1973 death penalty law as construed in Rockwell v. Superior Court (1976) 18 Cal.3d 420 [134 Cal. Rptr. 650, 556 P.2d 1101], the trial court lacked authority to strike special circumstance findings, but under the 1978 death penalty law as construed in People v. Williams (1981) 30 Cal.3d 470 [179 Cal. Rptr. 443, 637 P.2d 1029], the court generally has such authority; because trial in this matter took place after Rockwell but before Williams, the court may have mistakenly believed it lacked authority to strike the findings; therefore, to prevent the possibility of prejudice we should vacate the penalty judgment and remand the cause to the trial court with directions to expressly consider whether it should strike the findings in furtherance of justice. The argument is unpersuasive. Although under the 1978 law the court has the authority to strike the special circumstance findings before a verdict of death ( People v. Williams, supra, 30 Cal.3d at pp. 477-490), it is an open question whether it retains that power after such a verdict ( id. at p. 490, fn. 11). (10) But assuming arguendo that the court has the authority, we believe that the claimed failure of the court here to expressly consider whether it should strike the findings could not have been prejudicial and that remand would serve no purpose: there are simply no facts in the record to support an exercise of that power in defendant's favor. (11) Finally, we are of the opinion that in view of the theories presented and the evidence introduced, the jury's guilt phase verdicts imply a finding that defendant was the actual killer ( Enmund v. Florida (1982) 458 U.S. 782, 788-801 [73 L.Ed.2d 1140, 1145-1154, 102 S.Ct. 3368]). Having reviewed the record in its entirety, we conclude that this finding is amply supported by the evidence and adopt it as our own. Accordingly, we hold that the imposition of the penalty of death on defendant does not violate the Eighth Amendment. ( Cabana v. Bullock (1986) 474 U.S. 376, 386 [88 L.Ed.2d 704, 716, 106 S.Ct. 689, 697].) [8]