Opinion ID: 1195356
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Alleged bias on the part of the trial court

Text: Defendant contends the trial court was not impartial, and this deprived him of the state and federal constitutional guarantee of due process of law. He contends that a trial presided over by a judge who is not fair and impartial constitutes a structural defect that is reversible per se. This claim is made pro forma. Defendant concedes that judicial bias at the guilt phase probably cannot be shown, and accordingly we do not consider the contention in the context of the guilt phase. His contention with respect to the penalty phase is offered without any citation to the record, in violation of rule 15(a) of the California Rules of Court. It essentially is a restatement of the contentions, discussed ante, that conditions imposed on defendant at the penalty phase rendered that proceeding a sham. We have examined the record of the penalty phase, and although it does indicate that the court experienced some frustration at what it believed to be defendant's attempts to manipulate the court and to cause a risk of mistrial, nothing in the record demonstrates that the court lost its impartiality.