Opinion ID: 1387721
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Special Circumstances Finding

Text: As indicated previously, the jury found that the murder of victim Estrada occurred during the commission of a robbery, thereby constituting a special circumstance permitting imposition of the death penalty. (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17).) (24a) Defendant correctly observes that the trial court failed to instruct the jury that the foregoing felony-murder special circumstance could not be found to exist unless defendant intended to kill his victim. (See People v. Garcia (1984) 36 Cal.3d 539, 547-549 [205 Cal. Rptr. 265, 684 P.2d 826]; Carlos v. Superior Court, supra, 35 Cal.3d 131, 153-154.) The People concede that Carlos error occurred here, and that under Garcia such error is ordinarily reversible per se. They argue, however, that the error was not prejudicial because the evidence establishes appellant's intent to kill Juan Estrada. (25) One exception to the Garcia rule of per se reversible error exists where the parties recognized that intent to kill was at issue, they presented all evidence available on that issue, and the record establishes such intent as a matter of law, the contrary evidence being unworthy of consideration. (See People v. Garcia, supra, 36 Cal.3d at pp. 554-555.) (24b) We conclude that this exception does not apply here. The People suggest that the very method of killing Estrada established defendant's intent to kill him. As we previously observed in the context of the evidence of defendant's attempted murder conviction, however, the fact that defendant shot his victims at close range, though certainly strongly indicative, was not conclusive evidence of an intent to kill, but may have merely demonstrated an intent to disable. (See also People v. Hayes (1985) 38 Cal.3d 780, 787-788 [214 Cal. Rptr. 652, 699 P.2d 1259].) Thus, it cannot be said that the record establishes an intent to kill as a matter of law. Additionally, defendant introduced evidence during the penalty phase, which indicated that defendant had suffered brain damage which may have impaired his judgment under stressful conditions. Had defendant realized that his intent to kill was relevant to the special circumstances charge, as well as the lesser attempted murder charge, he might well have chosen to submit such evidence as bearing upon his ability to form such an intent, rather than postpone the presentation of such evidence until the penalty phase. (See People v. Boyd (1985) 38 Cal.3d 762, 771 [215 Cal. Rptr. 1, 700 P.2d 782]; People v. Armendariz (1984) 37 Cal.3d 573, 578 [209 Cal. Rptr. 664, 693 P.2d 243]; People v. Ramos (1984) 37 Cal.3d 136, 148-149 [207 Cal. Rptr. 800, 689 P.2d 430].) Accordingly, we cannot say that defendant introduced at the guilt phase all pertinent evidence on the intent issue. We conclude that the special circumstances finding must be set aside.