Opinion ID: 1147525
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Out-of-state Convictions

Text: (29) Defendant contends three of his Oregon prior convictions (i.e., second degree robbery, second degree burglary, and unauthorized vehicle use) were inadmissible under section 190.3, factor (c), because they would not qualify, under the least-adjudicated-elements test of People v. Crowson (1983) 33 Cal.3d 623, 632 [10 P. 169], as felonies under California law. But in Crowson we were concerned with the proper application of section 668, which defines the circumstances under which prior convictions may be used to enhance punishment for subsequent offenses. Section 668 does not apply to the consideration of prior felony convictions for purposes other than enhancement of punishment. On the other hand, section 668 illustrates that when the Legislature intends to impose restrictions on the use of out-of-state convictions, it expresses that limitation clearly. [22] (See also, § 190.2, subd. (a)(2) [For the purpose of this paragraph an offense committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in California would be punishable as first or second degree murder shall be deemed murder in the first or second degree.].) In the absence of limitation, a reference to prior felony convictions is deemed to include any prior conviction which was a felony under the laws of the convicting jurisdiction. (See, e.g., Barnes v. District Court of Appeal (1918) 178 Cal. 500, 504-505 [173 P. 1100] [disbarment for conviction of felony involving moral turpitude]; People v. Davis (1985) 166 Cal. App.3d 760, 764-766 [212 Cal. Rptr. 673] [escape by prisoner convicted of felony]; People v. Domenico (1953) 121 Cal. App.2d 124, 127 [263 P.2d 122] [possession of concealable firearm by convicted felon]; People v. Theodore (1953) 121 Cal. App.2d 17, 29-30 [262 P.2d 630] [impeachment with prior felony conviction]; People v. Gutkowsky (1950) 100 Cal. App.2d 635, 639-641 [224 P.2d 95] [use of prior felony conviction to determine minimum term of imprisonment].) Section 190.3, factor (c), provides without limitation that the trier of fact shall consider in determining penalty [t]he presence or absence of any prior felony conviction (italics added). Under this language, the court properly overruled defense counsel's objection to use of defendant's prior Oregon convictions for offenses defined as felonies by Oregon law. [23]
Referring back to his contentions regarding improper admission of certain guilt phase evidence, including virtually the entire testimony of Crothers and Marshall, as well as those portions of the testimony of Schroff, Davis, and Bass regarding defendant's postoffense weapon use, defendant first assumes we find the evidence to have been improperly admitted but conclude the error was not prejudicial at the guilt phase. On these assumptions, defendant argues that the asserted error was prejudicial at the penalty phase and requires reversal of the judgment as to penalty. Having concluded, contrary to defendant's assumption, that this evidence was all properly admitted at the guilt phase, we need not address this contention. Assuming that the same evidence was properly admitted at the guilt phase, defendant next contends the court should have instructed the jury sua sponte to disregard this evidence in determining penalty. We rejected the same contention in People v. McLain (1988) 46 Cal.3d 97, 113 [249 Cal. Rptr. 630, 757 P.2d 569], holding that, in the absence of a request, the trial court is under no duty to give such an instruction at the penalty phase in regard to evidence received at the guilt phase. (30) Defendant next contends the court should have instructed the jury sua sponte that unadjudicated criminal activity of a defendant involving the use, attempted use, or threat of violence (§ 190.3, factor (b)) could be considered in aggravation only if the activity was proved beyond a reasonable doubt (see People v. Robertson (1982) 33 Cal.3d 21, 53-55 [188 Cal. Rptr. 77, 655 P.2d 279]), and that the jury should have been instructed at the penalty phase, as it had been instructed at the guilt phase, to view with caution evidence of a defendant's oral admissions. Although the jury was instructed that in determining penalty it could consider, among other things, the presence or absence of criminal activity involving the use, attempted use, or threat of violence, the prosecutor did not argue that any evidence relating to this factor had been presented. The only aggravating factors cited by the prosecutor during argument were the circumstances of the crime (§ 190.3, factor (a)), and defendant's prior felony convictions (§ 190.3, factor (c)). As the evidence in question was not offered as other crimes evidence in aggravation, a reasonable-doubt instruction was not required ( People v. Rich (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1036, 1121-1122 [248 Cal. Rptr. 510, 755 P.2d 960]; People v. Poggi (1988) 45 Cal.3d 306, 341 [246 Cal. Rptr. 886, 753 P.2d 1082]; People v. Williams (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1127, 1147 [245 Cal. Rptr. 635, 751 P.2d 901]), nor was it necessary that the jury be reinstructed to view with caution evidence of defendant's oral admissions. Finally, defendant contends he was prejudiced by the prosecutor's failure to give timely pretrial notice under section 190.3 [24] that evidence of defendant's statements to Crothers would be offered in aggravation at the penalty phase. As noted, the prosecutor did not offer any such evidence in aggravation.
Defendant contends that two of the prosecutor's statements in argument to the jury at the penalty phase constituted misconduct. First, in explaining that the circumstances of the crime (§ 190.3, factor (a)) could be considered as a factor in determining penalty, the prosecutor stated: ... it's the same sort of things you considered during the guilt phase of this trial  the condition and circumstances of the body, the manner in which the person was killed, the conduct of the defendant following the execution of the victim, the defendant's conduct up until his arrest, and even the defendant's demeanor while on the stand. (Italics added.) Defendant maintains that by referring to his demeanor while testifying, the prosecutor was improperly arguing that the jury could consider in aggravation defendant's lack of remorse and failure to confess guilt. The prosecutor's remark was never amplified or explained and its meaning is unclear. The prosecutor may have been referring merely to the strength of the evidence of defendant's guilt and the lack of credibility in defendant's testimony. (31) Assuming the prosecutor was referring to defendant's failure to demonstrate remorse, comment on a capital defendant's lack of remorse is proper if it does no more than suggest the inapplicability of a mitigating factor. ( People v. Walker (1988) 47 Cal.3d 605, 650 [253 Cal. Rptr. 863, 765 P.2d 70].) Certainly no reasonable juror could have construed the prosecutor's remark as an invitation to treat either defendant's apparent lack of remorse or his failure to confess as a separate aggravating circumstance. In any event, even assuming the remark was improper, an admonition would have cured the harm, and so the failure to object or request an admonition waived any claim of misconduct. ( Ibid.; People v. Green (1980) 27 Cal.3d 1, 34 [164 Cal. Rptr. 1, 609 P.2d 468].) Defendant next complains of the following statements: The system is designed in such a way that it is felt better for 12 members of the community, who reflect the values of the community, to decide what is an appropriate punishment in this most serious of cases. No back-room bargaining between the defense and the prosecution. No quiet, closed-door sessions. This is  if you want to have a voice in your community and an effect upon the law in the community, this is your opportunity.  (Italics added.) (32) Defendant contends this remark urged the jurors to consider the effect of their verdict on the community, and thereby improperly appealed to the jurors' passions and deflected them from considering the particularized features of the offense and the offender. Defendant appears to have misconstrued the point of the prosecutor's remarks, which seems to have been that the jurors were to express the conscience of the community on the ultimate question of life or death ( Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968) 391 U.S. 510, 519 [20 L.Ed.2d 776, 783, 88 S.Ct. 1770]), and also that, in general, jurors in a capital case play a particularly important role in the criminal justice system. No reasonable juror would have construed the remarks as urging the jurors to follow community sentiment rather than their own judgment. In any event, no objection was made and an admonition would have cured any harm, so the issue is not reviewable. ( People v. Green, supra, 27 Cal.3d 1, 34.)
After the death penalty verdict was returned, defense counsel moved to reduce the verdict on the ground that it was disproportionate to verdicts rendered in other similar cases. This motion was considered along with the automatic motion for modification of a death penalty verdict (§ 190.4, subd. (e)). Before ruling on these motions, the court reviewed a presentence report containing summaries of interviews the probation officer had conducted with Anderson's widow and Anderson's mother. Attached to the presentence report were letters to the court from the widow and the mother and a petition requesting imposition of the death penalty. The petition apparently had been circulated in communities where members of Anderson's family resided. The interviews and the letters contained references to the effect of Anderson's death on members of his family. The court denied the automatic modification motion, explaining it was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of first degree murder, that the special circumstance was true, and that the factors in aggravation outweighed those in mitigation. [25] The court expressly stated that defendant's testimony regarding the circumstances of the killing was not credible. [26] Before ruling on counsel's motion to reduce the verdict as disproportionate, the court remarked that while it had not conducted a study of death penalty verdicts, this case was not one of the most egregious, aggravated cases or a classic case for imposition of the death penalty. [27] The court then denied the proportionality motion on the ground it lacked authority to undertake that form of review. Defendant contends that the court had authority to reduce the verdict as disproportionate and so erred in declining to consider counsel's motion on its merits, that the court improperly considered victim impact evidence in ruling on the automatic modification motion, and that the court's remarks reveal it applied an incorrect standard in ruling on the modification motion by failing to consider whether the verdict of death was appropriate both as to the offense and the offender.