Opinion ID: 844274
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Murder Victim's Life History

Text: Defendant contends the court infringed his constitutional rights by admitting evidence about details of Lao's life and allowing the prosecutor to argue that defendant's life was comparatively unworthy of sympathy. At the start of the penalty phase, defense counsel objected to victim impact testimony about Lao's childhood flight from Cambodia, her education in America, and other details that would paint a live history of the victim. He argued that under Payne v. Tennessee (1991) 501 U.S. 808 [115 L.Ed.2d 720, 111 S.Ct. 2597] and People v. Edwards, supra, 54 Cal.3d 787, only evidence about the direct impact of the murder on the victim's family was relevant and admissible in a capital trial. Counsel especially sought to avoid a prosecution argument that Lao had escaped the killing fields of Cambodia only to be murdered in the killing fields of Gardena. The trial court disagreed that Lao's life history was entirely irrelevant, reasoning that it was important for the jury to have information about the victim's life to fully understand the impact of her loss on her family. The court also ruled that the evidence was not unfairly prejudicial. Lao's sister, Lynn Ngov, was allowed to testify that the siblings left Cambodia to escape communism when Lao was 10 years old. They lived in San Diego and then Los Angeles, where Lao attended college. Lao was scheduled to graduate from the University of Southern California in May 1993. Ngov testified that Lao was very close to Ngov's two children, and she still felt shocked and upset about the murder. In his closing argument, the prosecutor noted that Lao had fled from a place of political oppression and violence and had come to this country to improve her life. She came here without her parents, borrowed money to attend school, and was taking advantage of all the opportunities the United States had to offer. He concluded, in this great land of opportunity, Soy Lao found her killing fields at the corner of El Segundo and Van Ness. [¶] And if Lester Virgil did something in this case besides rob this young girl of her life and 12 dollars, he might just have done something wors[e]. He robbed her of her dreams. Defendant raised no objection to this argument. (39) In Payne v. Tennessee, supra, 501 U.S. at page 825, the United States Supreme Court held that victim impact evidence is not inadmissible per se because it is simply another form or method of informing the sentencing authority about the specific harm caused by the crime in question. . . . We have held that evidence and argument about the specific harm caused by the defendant, including the impact on the family of the victim, is admissible as an aggravating circumstance under factor (a) of section 190.3. ( People v. Edwards, supra, 54 Cal.3d at p. 835.) Of course, such evidence must conform to established limits on emotional evidence and argument. `[T]he jury must face its obligation soberly and rationally, and should not be given the impression that emotion may reign over reason. [Citation.] In each case, therefore, the trial court must strike a careful balance between the probative and the prejudicial. [Citations.] On the one hand, it should allow evidence and argument on emotional though relevant subjects that could provide legitimate reasons to sway the jury to show mercy or to impose the ultimate sanction. On the other hand, irrelevant information or inflammatory rhetoric that diverts the jury's attention from its proper role or invites an irrational, purely subjective response should be curtailed.' [Citation.] ( Id. at p. 836.) The limited testimony and argument presented about Lao's life history remained well within these limits on permissible victim impact evidence. We have recognized that the prosecution has some latitude in presenting evidence about the victim. `[T]he State has a legitimate interest in counteracting the mitigating evidence which the defendant is entitled to put in, by reminding the sentencer that just as the murderer should be considered as an individual, so too the victim is an individual whose death represents a unique loss to society and in particular to his family.' ( Payne v. Tennessee, supra, 501 U.S. at p. 825, quoting Booth v. Maryland (1987) 482 U.S. 496, 517 [96 L.Ed.2d 440, 107 S.Ct. 2529] (dis. opn. of White, J.); see also People v. Marks (2003) 31 Cal.4th 197, 235 [2 Cal.Rptr.3d 252, 72 P.3d 1222].) Ngov's description of the siblings' flight from Cambodia and Lao's pursuit of educational goals in America was relevant to show her closeness to Lao and, by extension, how Lao's murder had affected the family. (See People v. Boyette, supra, 29 Cal.4th at pp. 444-445.) The testimony was not unduly emotional or inflammatory, and it was relatively brief. The prosecutor's argument also stayed within appropriate boundaries and did not encourage an irrational or emotional response unrelated to the facts of the case. Lao's background and aspirations were mentioned at the end of closing argument. The discussion was brief and was relevant to convey the full impact of defendant's crime on Lao's family and the community. ( Id. at p. 444; People v. Raley (1992) 2 Cal.4th 870, 916 [8 Cal.Rptr.2d 678, 830 P.2d 712].) The brief testimony and argument mentioning pertinent facts about Lao's life were not unduly prejudicial and did not violate defendant's constitutional rights.