Opinion ID: 1196421
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 45

Heading: Admission of Stale Evidence

Text: (55) Defendant next contends the testimony from the witnesses who testified about the facts surrounding his 1975 murder of Pierce and rape of Jane B. should have been excluded because that evidence was stale, thus impinging on his ability to adequately test its reliability. He claims the admission of this evidence implicates his rights under the Eighth Amendment, as well as his Fifth Amendment right to due process. Defendant has no explanation, however, why we should not conclude he waived the issue by his failure to object on this ground at trial. In any case, the claim is patently meritless. Unlike Gardner v. Florida (1977) 430 U.S. 349 [51 L.Ed.2d 393, 97 S.Ct. 1197], cited in support, in which a capital defendant was sentenced to death due in part to the trial court's reliance on a sentencing report, the contents of which were not revealed to defense counsel, the mere passage of time between defendant's 1975 crimes and his capital trial did not significantly diminish his ability to challenge the evidence in question. First, as required by section 190.3, factor (c), the prior crimes were established by convictions. Second, defendant pleaded guilty to those crimes and admitted the truth of the special circumstance in the present case. Third, the jury was instructed that aggravating circumstances  including the existence of prior felony convictions  must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Finally, although defendant complains of his inability to effectively confront the witnesses because of the passage of time, we note he had notice of this evidence (§ 190.3, par. 4) and cross-examined those witnesses that were available. In short, we find no constitutional error.