Opinion ID: 2599073
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Prosecutorial discretion to charge death penalty unconstitutional

Text: Defendant argues that prosecutorial discretion to determine in which cases special circumstances will be charged and the death penalty sought renders the death penalty law unconstitutionally overbroad. We have repeatedly rejected the claim (see, e.g., People v. Crittenden (1994) 9 Cal.4th 83, 152, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887; People v. Ashmus (1991) 54 Cal.3d 932, 980, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 112, 820 P.2d 214), concluding that local charging discretion does not render the death penalty law unconstitutionally vague or arbitrary. ( Brown, supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 403, 15 Cal.Rptr.3d 624, 93 P.3d 244.)