Opinion ID: 1375029
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constitutionality of the 1977 Death Penalty Statute

Text: (48) Defendant contends that California's 1977 death penalty statute (Stats. 1977, ch. 316, pp. 1256-1266) is facially unconstitutional, in essence because it is unconstitutionally vague and gives the trier of fact too much discretion to decide his fate. For those asserted reasons he urges that it violates the federal Constitution's Eighth Amendment. It does not. ( Tuilaepa v. California, supra, 512 U.S. ___ [129 L.Ed.2d 750] [considering the 1978 death penalty statute]; Pulley v. Harris (1984) 465 U.S. 37, 51-54 [79 L.Ed.2d 29, 40-43, 104 S.Ct. 871] [considering the 1977 statute]; People v. Jackson, supra, 28 Cal.3d 264, 315-316 (plur. opn.); accord, id. at p. 318 (conc. opn. of Newman, J.).)