Opinion ID: 2618245
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 62

Heading: Morgan's Absence From the Penalty Phase

Text: Prior to holding the penalty phase, the trial court was informed that Cliff Morgan was too ill to continue. It ruled that the penalty phase would proceed without Morgan and if he did not regain his health before the end of the penalty trial for Hardy and Reilly, the jury would be allowed to return its verdict as to them and would then be dismissed as to Morgan. Neither defendant objected. At the beginning of the penalty phase, the trial court instructed the jury that Morgan would not attend due to medical reasons and that it should not permit his absence to affect their deliberations in any way. (72) Defendants contend they were denied their constitutional right to a fair and reliable penalty determination because Cliff Morgan was absent from the penalty phase of the trial. They speculate that the jury would naturally be upset that it could not punish Morgan, the alleged mastermind of the conspiracy. As a consequence, they claim, the jury would be likely to impose more severe punishment on them. We reject the argument at the threshold because the record reveals no objection or motion for a mistrial based on this ground. Accordingly, the issue was not preserved for appellate review. Assuming the issue was preserved, however, we find defendants' speculation unfounded; the jury was instructed not to consider Morgan's absence in their penalty determination and we assume the jury followed that instruction. ( People v. Bonin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 659, 699 [250 Cal. Rptr. 687, 758 P.2d 1217].) In addition, the prosecutor echoed that thought in his closing argument. We thus reject defendants' argument as pure speculation. We likewise reject defendants' related claim that Morgan's absence at the penalty phase, coupled with the prosecutor's closing argument, violated their constitutional right under the Eighth Amendment to an individualized penalty determination. Although they rely on the prosecutor's comments during closing argument describing the involvement in the crime of all three defendants, the prosecutor never asked the jury to impose a harsher penalty on Hardy or Reilly because of Morgan's actions. Instead, the prosecutor merely described the circumstances of the crime (§ 190.3, factor (a)), a crime that included the participation of Morgan.