Opinion ID: 1181110
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Carryover of Prosecutorial Misconduct.

Text: (30) Defendant argues that the prosecutor's improper remarks during the guilt and sanity phases, impugning his mental defenses and the integrity of his expert witnesses, necessitate reversal of the penalty determination because the remarks went to the issue at the core of his penalty defense: i.e., whether his conduct should be considered any less blameworthy because it was, according to the defense, the product of mental disease and Vietnam war trauma. Citing Lockett v. Ohio (1978) 438 U.S. 586 [57 L.Ed.2d 973, 98 S.Ct. 2954] and Eddings v. Oklahoma (1982) 455 U.S. 104 [71 L.Ed.2d 1, 102 S.Ct. 869], defendant asserts that the prosecutor's misconduct deprived him of his constitutional right to have the jury consider his mental defense as mitigation. As indicated previously, most of the prosecutor's challenged remarks were made during the sanity phase of trial. The comments were directed to persuading the jury to reject defense evidence that at the time of the offenses defendant was legally insane. At the penalty phase, by contrast, the prosecutor in closing argument expressly recognized the existence and potential mitigating effect of defendant's mental problems. In addition, pursuant to CALJIC No. 8.84.1 the court instructed the jury to consider in determining penalty whether at the time of the offense defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance or was suffering from mental disease or defect and whether there was any other circumstance which extenuated the gravity of the crime. (CALJIC No. 8.84.1 (d), (h), (k); ง 190.3, factors (d), (h), (k).) These instructions in effect directed the jury to consider the evidence of defendant's mental problems. Consequently, any impropriety in the prosecutor's asserted broad attack against psychiatric evidence was nonprejudicial.