Opinion ID: 1388720
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prosecutor's Decision To Seek the Death Penalty

Text: Defendant argues that a prosecutor abdicates his governmental responsibility and denies all murder defendants due process of law by making the wishes of the surviving relatives the deciding factor in the prosecutor's decision to seek the death penalty in any case. Defendant did not raise this argument in the trial court, and has therefore waived it absent fundamental error. See, e.g., State v. Thomas, 130 Ariz. 432, 435, 636 P.2d 1214, 1217 (1981). This conclusion is not altered by the fact that defendant did argue at trial that the lack of legislatively enacted guidelines to channel prosecutors' discretion violates the eighth amendment. See State v. Neal, 143 Ariz. 93, 100, 692 P.2d 272, 279 (1984) (if evidence is objected to on one ground in the trial court and admitted over that objection, other grounds raised for the first time on appeal are waived) (citation omitted); State v. Christensen, 129 Ariz. 32, 37, 628 P.2d 580, 585 (1981) (appellant waives error by assigning grounds for objection not raised below) (citation omitted). Because defendant failed to raise this argument in the trial court, we must determine whether it is fundamental error for the prosecutor to consider the wishes of the victim's family in determining whether to seek the death penalty. Before we may engage in a fundamental error analysis, however, we must first find that the trial court committed some error. See Thomas, 130 Ariz. at 436, 636 P.2d at 1218; State v. King, 158 Ariz. 419, 424, 763 P.2d 239, 244 (1988). For the reasons stated below, we find no such error in refusing to sentence defendant to a sentence other than death. First, we note that the record does not support defendant's argument that the family's wishes were the deciding factor in the State's decision to seek the death penalty. K.C. Scull, head of the Major Felony Bureau of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, testified that the family supported the decision to seek the death penalty in this case. He also testified, however, that many factors are considered in determining whether to seek the death penalty. Although the decision is made on a case-by-case basis, some of the factors that may be considered include: (1) the aggravating circumstances in A.R.S. § 13-703, (2) the family's feelings regarding the decision to seek the death penalty, (3) the facts involved, (4) the defendant's character and mitigating factors, (5) the strength of the evidence, and (6) who the trial judge is. We have reviewed the record and find nothing in it that indicates the State placed any undue weight on the family's wishes. Thus, we conclude that although the family's wishes may have been a factor in the decision to seek the death penalty, they were not the deciding factor. [17] Second, we reject defendant's argument that Booth v. Maryland makes it unconstitutional for a prosecutor to consider the wishes of the victim's family in deciding whether to seek the death penalty. See 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (1987). In Booth, the United States Supreme Court held that the introduction of a VIS [victim impact statement] at the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial violates the Eighth Amendment, id. at 509, 107 S.Ct. at 2536 (emphasis added), because a VIS is irrelevant to a capital sentencing decision, and ... its admission creates a constitutionally unacceptable risk that the jury may impose the death penalty in an arbitrary and capricious manner, id. at 502-03, 107 S.Ct. at 2533 (emphasis added). The Court noted that the degree to which a family is willing and able to express its grief is irrelevant to the decision whether a defendant, who may merit the death penalty, may live or die. Id. at 505, 107 S.Ct. at 2534. In this case, the family's wishes influenced a pre-trial decision by the State to seek the death penalty; they did not influence the sentencing body's decision to impose the death penalty. Thus, we hold that Booth does not prohibit the State from considering the wishes of the victim's family in deciding whether to seek the death penalty. [18] McKenzie v. Risley, 842 F.2d 1525, 1537-38 n. 25 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 901, 109 S.Ct. 250, 102 L.Ed.2d 239 (1988). Third, we note that prosecutors traditionally have had great discretion in determining what crimes to charge and what penalties to seek. For example, the United States Supreme Court has stated that the policy considerations behind a prosecutor's traditionally `wide discretion' suggest the impropriety of our requiring prosecutors to defend their decisions to seek death penalties.... McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 296, 107 S.Ct. 1756, 1769, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). Moreover, a defendant cannot prove a constitutional violation by demonstrating that other defendants who may be similarly situated did not receive the death penalty because of prosecutorial discretion. Id. at 306-07, 107 S.Ct. at 1775; Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 199, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2937, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976) (plurality opinion); see State v. Harding, 137 Ariz. 278, 292, 670 P.2d 383, 397 (1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1013, 104 S.Ct. 1017, 79 L.Ed.2d 246 (1984); State v. Richmond, 114 Ariz. 186, 195, 560 P.2d 41, 50 (1976), cert. denied, 433 U.S. 915, 97 S.Ct. 2988, 53 L.Ed.2d 1101 (1977). Fourth, we have found several cases that specifically considered whether it is constitutional for the State to consider the wishes of the victim's family in deciding whether to seek the death penalty. These cases all held that it is constitutional. McKenzie, 842 F.2d at 1536, 1537-38 n. 25 (finding no impropriety in state's refusal to go through with a proposed plea bargain when the contingency of obtaining the approval of the victim's family was not satisfied); Townsend v. State, 533 N.E.2d 1215, 1222 (Ind. 1989) (concluding that considering the feelings of the victim's family, among other things, does not make the decision to seek the death penalty arbitrary), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 1327, 108 L.Ed.2d 502 and cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 2633, 110 L.Ed.2d 653 (1990); Huffington v. State, 304 Md. 559, 582-84, 500 A.2d 272, 284-85 (1985) (concluding that consulting with the victim's family after the State had already decided to seek the death penalty does not make the decision arbitrary), cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1023, 106 S.Ct. 3315, 92 L.Ed.2d 745 (1986); State v. Wilson, 311 N.C. 117, 123, 316 S.E.2d 46, 51 (1984) (rejecting defendant's due process and equal protection challenge and finding nothing impermissible about the district attorney's consideration of the wishes of the family as one factor in determining which defendants will be prosecuted for first degree murder and thereby subjected to the death penalty). For the reasons stated above, we hold that the wishes of the victim's family may be a factor in the State's decision whether to seek the death penalty. Thus, the trial court did not err by refusing to sentence defendant to a sentence other than death. RESTITUTION The trial court ordered that defendant pay $18,797.60 in restitution to Jan Vonderheide, Mary's sister, to cover the funeral expenses incurred as a result of the murders of Mary and Jennifer. Although defendant acknowledges the inadequacy of the record currently before this Court as to the particulars of this issue, he requests that we remand the matter to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing with directions that the restitution be reduced or credited with any payments Jan Vonderheide has received from life insurance policies that defendant paid for and provided to Mary and Jennifer. Although defendant claims that he provided life insurance to Mary and Jennifer, the record contains nothing that establishes the existence of any such life insurance policies, the amount of the proceeds paid out under any such policies, or that Jan Vonderheide received any such proceeds. Defendant has the duty to ensure that the record contains any material or documents necessary to his argument on appeal. When the record is not complete, we must assume that any evidence not available on appeal supports the trial court's actions. State v. Crum, 150 Ariz. 244, 247, 722 P.2d 971, 974 (App. 1986) (court rejected argument that affidavit providing basis for search warrant was defective because the affidavit was never admitted into evidence); State v. Kerr, 142 Ariz. 426, 430, 690 P.2d 145, 149 (App. 1984) (court rejected argument that motion to suppress should have been granted because counsel for the defense never introduced the warrant and attached list into evidence); see State v. Zuck, 134 Ariz. 509, 512-13, 658 P.2d 162, 165-66 (1982). Thus, by failing to ensure that the record on appeal is sufficient to support his argument, defendant has waived review of the restitution issue. DISPOSITION We have searched the entire record for fundamental error as required by A.R.S. § 13-4035, Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and State v. Leon, 104 Ariz. 297, 451 P.2d 878 (1969), and have found none. We affirm defendant's convictions and death sentences. FELDMAN, V.C.J., and CAMERON, J., concur.