Opinion ID: 2369367
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Refusal to instruct jury on age as a mitigating factor

Text: Defendant, who had turned 18 only a month before the murders, contends the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that, under factor (i) of section 190.3, his age could only be considered as a mitigating factor. The trial court instructed the jury that defendant's age could be considered as a factor in determining the sentence, but declined to specify whether it was an aggravating or mitigating factor. During closing arguments, defendant argued his age and immaturity were mitigating factors. This contention lacks merit. In Burney, supra, 47 Cal.4th at pages 257-258, we ruled the trial court did not err in refusing the defendant's request to list his age (18) as a specific example of a mitigating factor. Although the trial court in Burney did instruct the jury that the defendant's age could not be considered as an aggravating factor, it was not constitutionally required to do so. (See ibid. ) The trial court here properly instructed the jury that, under factor (k) of section 190.3, it could consider [a]ny other circumstance which extenuates the gravity of the crime, which would include defendant's age. Defendant nonetheless contends the high court's decision in Roper v. Simmons (2005) 543 U.S. 551 [161 L.Ed.2d 1, 125 S.Ct. 1183] compels us to revisit whether the trial court should have instructed the jury that his age could only have been considered as a mitigating factor. We disagree. Roper concluded the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed while the defendant was under the age of 18 constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the federal Constitution; it did not address whether an offender's youthfulness is an aggravating or a mitigating factor. As defendant acknowledges, we rejected a similar argument in People v. Brown (2003) 31 Cal.4th 518, 564-565 [3 Cal.Rptr.3d 145, 73 P.3d 1137], concluding the trial court did not err in rejecting the 19-year-old defendant's request to instruct the jury that a person under the age of 18 is not subject to the death penalty. Defendant's contrary argument notwithstanding, nothing in Roper undermined the rationale of Brown. [30]