Opinion ID: 1377397
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Alleged Boyd and Robertson Errors

Text: (10) At the guilt phase, the People properly introduced evidence of defendant's escape plan, and his threat to kill Blackie. No formal evidence was presented by either side at the penalty phase. The prosecutor then referred to this evidence during his penalty phase closing argument. Defendant asserts the only possible statutory factor to which this evidence might have applied was Penal Code section 190.3, subdivision (b): criminal activity by the defendant which involved the use or attempted use of force or violence or the express or implied threat to use force or violence. (Italics added.) But, as defendant notes, the prosecutor made no attempt to fit the evidence in that category; moreover, he argues, neither of the events amounted to a crime. To further complicate matters, as defendant observes, the jury was never instructed it must find such crimes proved beyond a reasonable doubt in order to consider them under subdivision (b). ( People v. Boyd (1985) 38 Cal.3d 762, 775-776 [215 Cal. Rptr. 1, 700 P.2d 782]; People v. Robertson (1982) 33 Cal.3d 21 [188 Cal. Rptr. 77, 655 P.2d 279].) Our reading of the record discloses no Boyd error, and hence no Robertson error. The prosecutor did not argue the subject evidence amounted to other crimes evidence under subdivision (b). Instead, he merely referred to the death threat and escape plan evidence in the course of his lengthy discussion of aggravating factors under subdivision (a) (circumstances of the present crime). Later, the prosecutor returned briefly to the escape plan evidence  but again, not in terms of subdivision (b), but in order to disprove the argument that the facts disclosed mitigation under subdivision (d) (extreme mental or emotional distress). Assuming it was error to refer to the subject evidence in the course of his discussion of subdivision (a), on the facts of this case we cannot imagine this amounted to reversible prejudice under any standard.