Opinion ID: 2637056
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Trial court's ruling on automatic motion to modify verdict, section 1904, subdivision (e)

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his automatic motion to modify the jury's death verdict, thereby violating both section 190.4, subdivision (e), and his state and federal constitutional rights to due process, a fair trial, to present a defense, to a penalty determination based on all available mitigating evidence, effective assistance of counsel, and a reliable determination of penalty. (U.S. Const., 5th, 6th, 8th & 14th Amends.; Cal. Const., art. I, งง 7, 15, 17.) In ruling on a verdict-modification motion, the trial court must make an independent determination whether imposition of the death penalty on the defendant is proper in light of the relevant evidence and the applicable law. The court is required to determine whether the verdict is adequately supported, in accordance with the weight it believes the evidence deserves. ( People v. Berryman, supra, 6 Cal.4th at p. 1105, 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 867, 864 P.2d 40.) In so doing, the trial court must specify reasons sufficient to assure effective appellate review. (Id. at p. 1106, 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 867, 864 P.2d 40.) `On appeal, we subject a ruling on a verdict-modification application to independent review.' [Citation.] `Of course, when we conduct such scrutiny, we simply review the trial court's determination after independently considering the record; we do not make a de novo determination of penalty.' [Citation.] ( People v. Berryman, supra, 6 Cal.4th at p. 1106, 25 Cal. Rptr.2d 867, 864 P.2d 40.) The trial court issued an extensive memorandum of decision. The memorandum reflects the court's correct understanding of its obligation under section 190.4, subdivision (e) and its careful consideration of statutory aggravating and mitigating factors as they bore on the evidence presented at the trial. Thus, our independent review discloses no reason to overturn the court's ruling. With respect to section 190.3, factor (a), the trial court stated: In this case there are several circumstances of the crime that are aggravated. The shooting was completely unprovoked and cold-blooded. The conflict between the defendant and the victim did not arise spontaneously. The defendant had to seek out the victim by apparently arming himself with two guns and following him from his apartment to an office in a different building where he repeatedly tried to talk the victim into cooperating. When his verbal efforts proved fruitless, the defendant intentionally raised the level of danger. After the victim refused to give his keys to the defendant, the defendant turned, closed the door and pulled out a handgun. He once again demanded the car keys while pointing the gun at the victim. The victim shook his head negatively and, without any further warning or provocation, the defendant shot the victim once in the stomach from point-blank range. [11] After the victim was shot, the defendant expressed no emotion and committed aggravating acts against the victim .... [H] The proof shows that the victim ... suffered greatly by crawling from the office to the living room area of the unit.... Medical help probably could not have arrived in time to save the victim's life even if a call had been placed immediately after the shooting. However, the defendant was not aware that medical aid would be unsuccessful and he intentionally prevented the victim from receiving emergency treatment. Such an act is callous and without conscience. [ถ] The above conduct demonstrates considerable aggravating circumstances were present during the commission of the homicide. The court also noted, however, that the victim was not particularly vulnerable and the killing was not done in a particularly heinous or atrocious manner, circumstances it found mitigating. With respect to section 190.3, factor (b), the trial court reviewed the three incidents of prior violent criminal conduct adduced in aggravation. The court found defendant's version of the circumstances of his 1968 conviction for assault with intent to commit murder to be unworthy of any credibility, and the conviction itself to be a substantial factor in aggravation. The court assigned some aggravating weight to defendant's 1983 conviction for armed robbery, but less than that accorded to defendant's 1968 assault conviction, in light of the absence of proof of the specific circumstances of the 1983 case. Finally, the court reviewed the evidence of the Wanda B. incident, concluding [t]here was ... insufficient evidence presented to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual acts were without consent. [ถ] ... [ถ] This ... act cannot be considered an aggravating factor. With respect to section 190.3, factor (c), the trial court reviewed defendant's nine prior felony convictions. [9] Finding it notable that all of defendant's convictions in the previous 25 years involved weapons, the court stated: Therefore, not only are defendant's felony convictions quite numerous, but most of them involve a danger of harm to others because of the presence of deadly weapons. His criminal record is a substantially aggravating factor. With respect to potentially mitigating factors, the trial court noted that, at the time of the offense, defendant was apparently annoyed at the victim for unclear reasons; the court, however, found nothing rising to the level of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance as required by section 190.3, factor (d). The court found defendant's claim that he killed in self-defense to be incredible, thus concluding section 190.3, factor (f), pertaining to circumstances a defendant reasonably believed to be a moral justification or extenuation of his conduct, did not mitigate the offense. With respect to section 190.3, factor (h), requiring consideration of any mental disease or defect or the effects of intoxication that might have impaired the defendant's appreciation of his actions or ability to conform to the law, the court noted: There was no evidence presented by either side to suggest that the defendant was mentally deficient or impaired at the time of the murder. The defendant at the time of trial, while representing himself, demonstrated no obvious sign of mental disease. While his decision to represent himself in a capital case might cause others to question his mental status, the defendant had been through criminal proceedings and trials on numerous prior occasions and handled himself with a fair degree of proficiency. He did not demonstrate during the trial that he had any mental defect or disease, [ถ] ... [ถ] ... The defendant's state of sobriety many hours later when arrested is not very probative on the issue of his sobriety at the time of the murder. From the totality of the evidence, it is clearly indicated that the defendant could appreciate the seriousness of his actions and conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. The court found defendant's age (59 at the time of the hearing) to be a mitigating factor. (ง 190.3, factor (i).) With respect to section 190.3, factor (k), [a]ny other circumstance which extenuates the gravity of the crime even though it is not a legal excuse for the crime, the court noted, the only arguable extenuation of the crime was the possible feeling of desperation the defendant felt to avoid going back to prison on a parole violation in view of his recent petty theft arrest at Woolworth's.... [ถ] ... [ถ] The defendant, however, says he did not fear going back to prison.... [ถ] ... [ถ] The eyewitness's testimony about the defendant's actions just before and after the murder described a calm, but persistent, man who set out to have his way and made sure he achieved that goal. There was no indication in the testimony that the defendant was emotional or desperate in his actions or his words. His actions were calculated and consistent with the `tunnel vision' that at least one witness testified typified the defendant's usual conduct, [ถ] Viewed as a whole, there is no support for the contention that the possibility of a prison sentence for petty theft so disturbed the defendant as to cause an understandable feeling of desperation that constituted an extenuating circumstance. The court found section 190.3, factors (e) and (g) not to be present in the case. Finally, the trial court independently reviewed the evidence of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances. It acknowledged that the aggravating circumstances about the commission of the crime itself did not substantially outweigh the mitigating circumstances, but relied largely on defendant's staggering record of felonies and acts of violence to uphold the jury's verdict. Defendant complains the trial court should have accorded greater impact, in its ruling, to the subtraction of the Wanda B. incident from the aggravating evidence, but we find the court's assessment of the relative weight of that evidence to be reasonable. Defendant also complains that the trial court wrongly found inapplicable section 190.3, factor (h) (pertaining to mental disease or defect or intoxication), but we see nothing in the record to undermine the court's finding. What defendant now characterizes as significant and pervasive evidence of [his] mental illness and concomitant paranoia and delusional beliefs seems simply to have been his unsuccessful effort to persuade the court and jury of a state of facts (a need to defend against a knife attack by the victim) that did not exist. Significantly, he introduced no evidence suggesting he was mentally ill. On this record, his decision to represent himself seems more a product of his imprudence or hubris than of mental illness or delusion.