Opinion ID: 1345760
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Motion to modify death verdict under section 190.4, subdivision (e).

Text: Defendant argues that the case must at least be remanded to the trial judge for redetermination of the automatic motion to modify the death verdict. (ง 190.4, subd. (e) (hereafter ง 190.4(e).) Defendant claims that, in denying the motion, the judge erred by relying upon nonstatutory aggravating circumstances, by ignoring mitigating evidence, and by failing to exercise his independent judgment whether death was the appropriate punishment. Our examination of the judge's decision on the motion shows no necessity for a remand. Section 190.4(e) creates an automatic motion for modification of any death verdict returned by the trier of fact. When ruling on the motion, the trial judge shall review the evidence, consider, take into account, and be guided by the aggravating and mitigating circumstances referred to in Section 190.3, and shall make a determination as to whether the jury's findings and verdicts that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances are contrary to law or the evidence presented. The judge shall state on the record the reasons for his findings. The trial judge here commenced his ruling by quoting his duties from the statute, and by reciting the aggravating and mitigating factors set forth in section 190.3 which he was obligated to consider. Next, the judge discussed the basic facts of the homicide. The judge suggested the jury had obviously rejected defendant's claim of sudden panic and rage, accepting instead a great deal of evidence that defendant planned in advance to harm the victim, perhaps in part because of dislike for homosexuals. Given the other evidence of premeditation, said the judge, the number and force of the stab wounds supported an inference that defendant made sure of the attainment of his objective of putting down a man like Mr. Savage. Next, as defendant suggests, the judge began to evaluate the circumstances of the homicide in terms apparently (though not explicitly) derived from the aggravating and mitigating factors set forth in the California Rules of Court, division III, Sentencing Rules for the Superior Courts (hereafter Sentencing Rules). The judge noted defendant's use of a weapon (see Sentencing Rule 421(a)(2)) and indicated that the victim might be considered vulnerable to the extent he was unarmed and unaware of defendant's intent (see Sentencing Rule 421(a)(3)). On the other hand, the judge observed, there was only one victim and one killer; this case did not involve defendant's leadership of a criminal enterprise. (See Sentencing Rules 421(a)(4) [multiple victims as aggravating], 421(a)(5) [defendant's leadership or dominance of other participants as aggravating].) The judge found evidence of planning in the sense of the cut telephone wires (see Sentencing Rule 421(a)(8) [planning, sophistication, or professionalism indicating premeditation as aggravating]), and observed that defendant used a position of trust to steal substantial property (see Sentencing rules 421(a)(12) [advantage from position of trust as aggravating], 421(a)(10) [great value of property taken as aggravating]). The judge pointed to defendant's prior prison record (see Sentencing Rules 421(b)(3) [prior prison record as aggravating], 423(b)(1) [absence of significant prior criminal record as mitigating]), including the recency of his release prior to the homicide. Given the jury's obvious acceptance of the prosecution's robbery-murder theory, said the judge, the defendant didn't play a passive or minor role in this matter (see Sentencing Rule 423(a)(1) [passive or minor participation as mitigating]). Finally, the judge remarked, no mistake was involved (see Sentencing Rule 423(a)(7) [mistaken belief in right as mitigating]), and defendant had not voluntarily admitted wrongdoing (see Sentencing Rule 423(b)(3) [defendant's early voluntary acknowledgment of wrongdoing as mitigating]). Thus, the judge summarized, there was every reason to believe that defendant committed first degree murder in the commission of robbery, and that the aggravating circumstances outweighed those in mitigation. The judge saw no indication of a penalty jury inflamed by passion. He acknowledged defendant's status as a human being, but observed that the victim also had humanity. The judge then ruled that the motion for modification of the jury's choice of penalty for the offense should be denied. (22) Defendant first urges that the judge's obvious reference to the Sentencing Rules constituted improper consideration of nonstatutory aggravating factors. (See Boyd, supra, 38 Cal.3d at pp. 771-779.) For several reasons, we disagree. The judge indicated at the outset his understanding that section 190.3 contains the pertinent sentencing factors. Moreover, even if derived from the Sentencing Rules, some of the factors mentioned by the judge were hardly more than rephrasings of those set forth in section 190.3. (See, e.g., ง 190.3, factors (c) [presence or absence of prior felony convictions], (j) [defendant's status as mere accomplice or minor participant].) In any event, defendant's argument is more fundamentally flawed. In Boyd, supra, we held only that the prosecution may not introduce penalty evidence unless it bears upon one of the aggravating factors listed in section 190.3. (38 Cal.3d at pp. 771-774.) We subsequently made clear, however, that counsel may broadly argue, and the sentencer may presumably weigh, all reasonably pertinent inferences from the evidence validly introduced under any factor. ( Davenport, supra, 41 Cal.3d at p. 288; see also Miranda, supra, 44 Cal.3d at pp. 110-111.) Section 190.3, factor (a) permits the sentencer to consider, in aggravation or mitigation, the  circumstances of the [ capital ] crime ... and the existence of any special circumstances found ... true. (Italics added.) While factors (d) through (k) of section 190.3 set forth those aspects of the capital offense which the law deems specifically pertinent to the penalty determination, these paragraphs do not limit the sentencer's power, under factor (a), to weigh any other constitutionally permissible aspect of the offense which the sentencer deems pertinent to the appropriate penalty. Though he did not confine himself to the language of section 190.3, factors (d) through (k), the judge offered pertinent reasons why, in his independent judgment, the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating, and the death verdict was not contrary to the law or the evidence. Defendant urges that the factors derived from the Sentencing Rules, which were designed for noncapital cases, have little logical relevance to the life-death determination. He suggests that such factors as planning, use of a weapon, major participation, significant property loss, lack of voluntary remorse, and the like, are virtually assumed in cases where the most lenient possible penalty is life imprisonment without parole. (Cf. Davenport, supra, 41 Cal.3d at p. 289.) We cannot accept this untested assumption. Indeed, in our experience, counsel typically argue that factors such as these, where suggested by the evidence, are pertinent to the capital penalty determination. The judge in this case simply evaluated the circumstances of defendant's capital crime, all of which were validly in evidence, under a normative framework familiar to him from another context, but relevant as well to capital sentencing. In so doing, he committed no error. [31] (23) Defendant claims the judge ignored constitutionally relevant mitigating evidence of defendant's character and background unrelated to the capital offense. The argument stems from the judge's failure to mention such evidence in detail on the record. However, the judge had previously instructed the jury to weigh such evidence and, at the beginning of his ruling on the section 190.4(e) motion, he expressly declared his own obligation to consider it. He never stated or implied that he deemed such evidence legally irrelevant. He acknowledged defendant's status as a human being, but indicated he simply found the factors in aggravation preponderant. (See, e.g., People v. Rich (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1036, 1123 [248 Cal. Rptr. 510, 755 P.2d 960].) We see no evidence of impropriety. (24) Finally, defendant urges the judge failed to exercise his independent judgment about the appropriate penalty. Assuming the trial judge has such a duty under section 190.4(e), defendant points to no indication that the duty was breached. When the judge's comments are read as a whole, they reveal his personal belief that defendant committed a premeditated robbery-murder against a trusting victim, that aggravation outweighed mitigation, and that the jury's verdict of death was appropriate under all the circumstances. [32]