Opinion ID: 1454621
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Guilt Phase Errors as Harmless Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Text: (46) Defendant argues that the cumulative effect of the various errors at the jury selection and in the guilt phase requires reversal of the jury's finding of guilt. To the contrary, we find that the cumulative effect of any conceivable errors, including those defendant contends to be of federal constitutional dimension, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under the rule of Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 16, 23-24 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710, 87 S.Ct. 824, 24 A.L.R.3d 1065]. Defendant's prearraignment statement, properly admitted in evidence, contains a full and voluntary confession to the crimes of robbery and first degree felony murder with the special circumstance of robbery. The statement includes facts supporting the essential elements of these crimes. Briefly summarized, the evidence from this statement shows that defendant planned to steal the victim's van; that he hit the victim over the head numerous times with a rock and a stick; and that he drove away in the van after leaving his victim facedown in a ditch. The victim's death was a natural consequence of defendant's conduct toward him. When considered together with the physical evidence and defendant's other properly admitted pretrial statements to officers, his cellmates, and others, the inference of his guilt becomes overwhelming. Although defendant did testify in his own behalf, repudiating his numerous inculpatory statements, the evidence of his guilt was sufficiently strong to allow us to conclude that any conceivable cumulation of guilt phase errors would not have affected the outcome of his case. (See United States v. Hasting (1983) 461 U.S. 499, 507-512 [76 L.Ed.2d 96, 105-108, 103 S.Ct. 1974] [overwhelming evidence of guilt plus scanty and inconsistent evidence offered by defendants allows reviewing court to find error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt]; see also People v. Lee (1987) 43 Cal.3d 666, 674-679 [238 Cal. Rptr. 406, 738 P.2d 752].)