Opinion ID: 1205526
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Admission of late evidence

Text: The State failed to timely disclose two pieces of evidence admitted by the trial judge: blood stains on a glove belonging to Defendant and fingerprints on a compact disk player case removed from Jones' car. Under Ariz. R.Crim. P. 15.1, the prosecutor should have disclosed this evidence, the names of the experts who examined it, and the reports or statements relating to it within ten days after Defendant's October 11, 1991 arraignment. The prosecutor did not disclose the fingerprint evidence until July 28, 1992 and the blood evidence until July 30, 1992, less than a week before trial began. Defendant moved to preclude this evidence on July 31. We note this was the only sanction Defendant requested; he did not ask for a continuance. Defendant contends the late disclosure and admission of this evidence deprived him of due process, requiring the verdict and sentence to be set aside. Rule 15.7 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure authorizes the trial court to sanction a party who does not timely disclose material relevant to the case. If a sanction is warranted, it should have a minimal effect on the evidence and merits of the case. State v. Smith, 140 Ariz. 355, 358-59, 681 P.2d 1374, 1377-78 (1984). Precluding evidence is rarely an appropriate sanction. State v. Fisher, 141 Ariz. 227, 246, 686 P.2d 750, 769, cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1066, 105 S.Ct. 548, 83 L.Ed.2d 436 (1984); but see State v. Killean, 185 Ariz. 270, 915 P.2d 1225 (1996) (approving trial court's preclusion of corroborative documentation evidence when defense counsel failed to record existence of such evidence, willfully violating discovery rules). Denial of a sanction is generally not an abuse of discretion if the trial court believes the defendant will not be prejudiced. Id. Absent a showing of abuse by the trial court, we will not disturb the trial court's choice of sanction or its decision not to impose a sanction. State v. Tucker, 157 Ariz. 433, 439, 759 P.2d 579, 585 (1988). Before sanctioning the offering party, the court should consider (1) the importance of the evidence to the prosecutor's case, (2) surprise or prejudice to the defendant, (3) prosecutorial bad faith, and (4) other relevant circumstances. Smith, 140 Ariz. at 358-59, 681 P.2d at 1377-78. [16] Before admitting the evidence, the trial judge heard arguments from both sides and found no prejudice to Defendant from the late disclosure. After examining the four Smith factors, we agree with the trial judge's conclusion. First, the State conceded that the evidence was of little importance to its case. Neither the blood on the glove, which had not been analyzed for blood group type, nor the fingerprint found on the compact disk case removed from the Lincoln, provided a physical link to the murder. Next, because Defendant had been given timely notice of the identity of the State's latent print and blood experts, he should not have been surprised when they were called to testify about their findings. However, because neither the prosecutor nor the defense learned about the experts' findings until shortly before trial, Defendant could have been prejudiced had he been deprived of an opportunity to have his own experts study the evidence. When the trial judge asked Defendant how the late disclosure prejudiced him, he replied only that he was surprised by the experts' late reports. Thus, there is no indication of actual prejudice from the late disclosure. Further, Defendant offered no evidence of prosecutorial bad faith, and the trial judge found none. The prosecutor may be held accountable for the negligence of the State's blood expert, who waited until the last minute before transmitting his nine-month-old report. See State v. Castaneda, 111 Ariz. 264, 266, 528 P.2d 608, 610 (1974) (prosecutor admonished for failing to use sufficient effort to keep apprised of the evidence). But because the defense's investigation of the evidence was not impaired by the State's delay, we find no prejudice to Defendant. In sum, the de minimis value of the evidence, Defendant's failure to show how its late disclosure hindered his defense, and the absence of prosecutorial misconduct on this issue lead us to conclude that the judge acted within her discretion in admitting the evidence without sanction. Defendant further contends that the blood evidence lacked relevance and should not have been admitted. The State's blood expert testified only to the existence of human blood on the glove, not to its type or any other information that might have shown Defendant had physical contact with Jones. Arguing the glove served only to inflame the jury, Defendant contends the judge erred by not weighing its probative value against its potential for unfair prejudice, as required by Ariz. R. Evid. 403 and State v. Chapple, 135 Ariz. 281, 288, 660 P.2d 1208, 1215 (1983) (the correct rule is that exhibits which may tend to inflame the jury must first be found relevant). The record indicates that the blood spot was unremarkable and could only be seen on close inspection of the glove. We find that the glove was not inflammatory. Although the evidence had little probative value, we find no error in admitting it. SENTENCING ISSUES When seeking the death penalty, the State must prove aggravating circumstances listed in A.R.S. § 13-703(F) beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Kiles, 175 Ariz. 358, 369, 857 P.2d 1212, 1223 (1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1058, 114 S.Ct. 724, 126 L.Ed.2d 688 (1994). Defendant has the burden of proving any statutory or non-statutory mitigating circumstances by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 373, 857 P.2d at 1227; A.R.S. § 13-703(G). The death penalty is required if at least one aggravating factor is found and the mitigating circumstances are not sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. A.R.S. § 13-703(E). This court conducts an independent review of the aggravating and mitigating factors in all capital cases to determine whether the death penalty is warranted. State v. Wood, 180 Ariz. 53, 68, 881 P.2d 1158, 1173 (1994). A. Aggravating circumstances
Defendant challenges the trial judge's finding that he committed the murder in an especially cruel, heinous, or depraved manner. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6). The judge determined that Jones was conscious until the second strangulation; she also found that ransacking Jones' house while he was bound, leaving him to agonize over his fate, sticking him several times with a hypodermic needle, and strangling him twice caused terror and horror in Jones' mind. The judge concluded that these events satisfied the meaning of cruelty under our case law. Special Verdict, Nov. 20, 1992, at 33-34. The judge also found that strangling rather than shooting the victim, leaving the victim's pants unzipped before laying him on his bed, attempting to inject an unidentified substance into him, and post-offense statements made to friends and roommates justifying and relishing the murder sufficiently demonstrated Defendant's depraved mental state and attitude, setting this case outside the usual first-degree murder. Id. at 34-35. Defendant argues that the judge's findings lack sufficient support. First, Defendant argues that the facts of this case do not support a finding of cruelty because they do not show beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones suffered mental anguish and terror. Defendant cites a number of cases describing circumstances this court has found to be especially cruel, claiming this case does not come close. Second, Defendant argues that the facts do not satisfy the Gretzler factors to support a finding of heinous and depraved. See State v. Gretzler, 135 Ariz. 42, 52, 659 P.2d 1, 11, cert. denied, 461 U.S. 971, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983). We need not reach the heinous or depraved elements if we find cruelty beyond a reasonable doubt. Kiles, 175 Ariz. at 370, 857 P.2d at 1224 (finding beyond a reasonable doubt any one of the three elements of § 13-703(F)(6) is sufficient to constitute an aggravating circumstance). We have held that: A murder is committed in an especially cruel manner if the perpetrator inflicts mental anguish or physical pain upon the victim before the victim's death. Mental anguish includes a victim's uncertainty about [his] ultimate fate. Id. at 371, 857 P.2d at 1213 (internal citations omitted). A finding of cruelty requires conclusive evidence that the victim was conscious and suffered mental or physical pain at the time of the offense. Bible, 175 Ariz. at 604, 858 P.2d at 1207. Barker testified that Jones did not struggle or appear to be breathing when Defendant strangled him the second time. Barker heard him gagging the first time he was strangled. The medical examiner testified that Jones could have been conscious while being strangled the second time, but he could offer no evidence of Jones' actual consciousness. Other evidence, however, convincingly shows that Jones suffered extreme mental and physical pain. He was conscious when the two men with a gun confronted him in his home, bound his hands behind his back, took him upstairs, asked him whether he wanted to be left tied or put to sleep, placed him face down on his bed, and pushed his head down while pulling on the tie to strangle him. He was conscious while Defendant stabbed his arms several times to inject a mystery substance. Defendant believed Jones was conscious after the injections because he heard Jones snoring, pretending to be asleep, even though Defendant had injected no sleeping medication. Jones was therefore conscious when he was strangled the first time. These events certainly caused Jones mental anguish about his fate, and the needle punctures and first strangulation caused him physical suffering. We find beyond a reasonable doubt that Defendant inflicted mental anguish and physical pain on the victim and that the murder was therefore committed in an especially cruel manner. Thus, the (F)(6) aggravating factor is satisfied, and we need not consider whether the murder was committed in an especially heinous or depraved manner.
We also find ample support for the other aggravators. It is undisputed that Defendant was convicted of armed robbery, involving the threat of violence, while on parole, making him eligible for a life sentence. That conviction now makes him eligible for the death penalty. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(1) and (2). Defendant also does not dispute that the murder was prompted by a desire for and an expectation of pecuniary gain. Killing for financial gain is an aggravating factor for imposing the death sentence. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(5); State v. White, 168 Ariz. 500, 510-11, 815 P.2d 869, 879-80 (1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1105, 112 S.Ct. 1199, 117 L.Ed.2d 439 (1992). A pecuniary motive took Defendant to the victim's house and was the impetus for his other conduct during the ensuing robbery and killing. This qualifies him for the death penalty. State v. Fierro, 166 Ariz. 539, 551, 804 P.2d 72, 84 (1990). B. Mitigating circumstances We independently weigh the mitigating evidence against the aggravating circumstances to determine whether leniency is called for. State v. Barreras, 181 Ariz. 516, 520-21, 892 P.2d 852, 856-57 (1995). 1. Defendant's abusive family background The trial judge considered evidence of Defendant's abusive family background and did not find mitigating value in it. Citing a line of Supreme Court cases [17] requiring courts to consider family history for independent mitigating weight, Defendant calls the judge's finding unconstitutional. Although the judge rejected the evidence as a mitigating factor because he failed to establish a nexus between his family background and his crime, Defendant argues that the judge violated the law. Defendant misconstrues the Supreme Court cases culminating in Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989). They hold only that a sentencer may not be precluded from considering, and may not refuse to consider, any relevant mitigating evidence offered by the defendant as a basis for a sentence less than death. Id. at 318, 109 S.Ct. at 2946. Having considered family background during the penalty phase, the sentencer must give the evidence such weight that the sentence reflects a reasoned moral response to the evidence. Id. at 319, 109 S.Ct. at 2947. The sentencer therefore must consider the defendant's upbringing if proffered but is not required to give it significant mitigating weight. How much weight should be given proffered mitigating factors is a matter within the sound discretion of the sentencing judge. State v. Atwood, 171 Ariz. 576, 648, 832 P.2d 593, 665 (1992). We have held that a difficult family background is not always entitled to great weight as a mitigating circumstance. State v. Wallace, 160 Ariz. 424, 426-27, 773 P.2d 983, 985-86 (1989) (A difficult family background is a relevant mitigating circumstance if a defendant can show that something in that background had an effect or impact on his behavior that was beyond the defendant's control.), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1047, 110 S.Ct. 1513, 108 L.Ed.2d 649 (1990). We have since reaffirmed that family background may be a substantial mitigating circumstance when it is shown to have some connection with the defendant's offense-related conduct. White, 168 Ariz. at 512-13, 815 P.2d at 881-82. Defendant has failed to connect his family background to his criminal conduct. Defendant's sisters testified at the sentencing hearing that he was a small child with dyslexia and a bed-wetting problem and that he was physically and mentally abused by his overweight and diabetic mother. One sister related that his mother forced him to kneel in a box of rice when he complained that his leg hurt after falling from a wagon, and that she gagged him with a sock and bound his hands in the back of the car while on a family trip. These events, however, occurred when Defendant was young, years before he robbed and murdered at the age of 27. They do not prove a loss of impulse control or explain what caused him to kill. The trial judge considered this background and gave it little or no mitigating value. We do not disagree. 2. Other mitigating circumstances The trial judge considered all the statutory mitigating factors under § 13-703(G) and gave them no weight. She found some mitigation in Defendant's drug use because it may have impaired his ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. She found Barker's disproportionate sentence in relation to Defendant's a mitigating circumstance and gave it significant weight. Nonetheless, she concluded that the mitigating evidence was not sufficiently substantial to require leniency, even if any combination of only two aggravating factors is affirmed by this court. We have examined the record for mitigating circumstances and find the rather sparse evidence insufficient to overcome the weight of the aggravating circumstances. We therefore affirm the death sentence. C. Summary issues To preserve issues, Defendant also raised the following arguments, which we summarily reject. See Atwood, 171 Ariz. at 645 n. 21, 832 P.2d at 662 n. 21. 1. The equal protection clause requires sentencing by a jury This claim has no logical basis and has been rejected in State v. Landrigan, 176 Ariz. 1, 6, 859 P.2d 111, 116, cert. denied, 510 U.S. 927, 114 S.Ct. 334, 126 L.Ed.2d 279 (1993). 2. Arizona's death penalty statute insufficiently channels the sentencer's discretion This claim has been rejected in West, 176 Ariz. at 454, 862 P.2d at 214, and State v. Greenway, 170 Ariz. 155, 164, 823 P.2d 22, 31 (1991). 3. The death penalty violates Defendant's Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment This claim has been rejected by the United States Supreme Court in Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 655-56, 110 S.Ct. 3047, 3058, 111 L.Ed.2d 511 (1990), and we reject it now.