Opinion ID: 2598779
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of the victim's medical treatment

Text: Over defense objection, the court permitted the doctor who treated Toyoshima at the hospital to testify about her condition and the treatment she received before she died. Defendant contends the evidence was irrelevant and, even if relevant, was unduly prejudicial. The district attorney offered the testimony, in conjunction with the autopsy evidence, to show that she died as a result of a combination of several different factors. The court found the evidence relevant and that its probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect. A determination of relevance and undue prejudice lies within the discretion of the trial court, and a reviewing court reviews that determination for abuse of discretion. ( People v. Rowland (1992) 4 Cal.4th 238, 264, 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 377, 841 P.2d 897.) We find no abuse of discretion. The evidence was not of great significance, but it had some relevance. Evidence of the efforts to save Toyoshima's life helped the jury to understand how and why she died. For example, the doctor testified that hypothermia and bleeding over time were significant factors in her death, which meant that the delay in giving her care greatly lessened her chances of survival. That evidence was, in turn, relevant to help the jury to evaluate the significance of defendant's delay in calling her host parent. The evidence did not have great probative value, but we also see little prejudicial effect. Defendant claims the testimony was sensational, but it was not. It was merely a factual recitation, unaccompanied by photographs or other visual images, of her condition and the efforts to save her. The jury would certainly expect the doctor to make extensive efforts to save her, as he did. We see nothing that would inflame the jury. Moreover, any error would have been harmless. Defendant admitted kidnapping and raping Toyoshima and shooting her during the rape. Because defendant was the actual killer, intent to kill was not an element of the felony-murder special circumstances. ( People v. Anderson (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1104, 1147, 240 Cal.Rptr. 585, 742 P.2d 1306.) Thus, defendant essentially confessed to her first degree felony murder and the kidnapping and rape special circumstances. The only truly contested issue regarding the charges involving Toyoshima was whether he sodomized her. The jury acquitted him of sodomy and found not true the related sodomy special circumstance. This shows the jury considered the evidence dispassionately in reaching its verdict. The challenged evidence would clearly have been admissible at the penalty phase even if not at the guilt phase ( People v. Hovey (1988) 44 Cal.3d 543, 576, 244 Cal.Rptr. 121, 749 P.2d 776), thus obviating any possible prejudice at that phase.