Court Opinion

ID: 9850580
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:59:33.143174+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:39.695868
License: Public Domain

FELDMAN, Vice Chief Justice,
specially concurring.
I concur in the opinion and the result but write separately to state my views on proportionality- review.
In his special concurrence, Justice Corcoran advocates abolishing this court’s practice of conducting proportionality reviews in capital cases. As he concedes (at 519, 815 P.2d at 888), this court has followed the practice in a long line of cases, most recently in State v. Stanley, 167 Ariz. 519, 809 P.2d 944 (1991). If we are to overrule all of these cases, it should only be for compelling reasons.
The concurrence presents a scholarly exposition of the imperfections in our proportionality review system. With respect, and despite the logic of the argument, I am unable to agree with the conclusion. This is one instance when, as Holmes said, the “life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.” O.W. HOLMES, JR., THE COMMON LAW 1 (1881). I think it important, therefore, to describe the reasons for my disagreement.
In Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 104 S.Ct. 871, 79 L.Ed.2d 29 (1984), the United States Supreme Court finally concluded that the United States Constitution does not require proportionality review. But the constitution, of course, sets only the minimum requirements, and courts add many procedures designed to do justice on a case-by-case basis. For instance, Justice Corcoran points out that we undertake an “extensive, independent review” in capital cases, including “an examination of the facts that establish the presence or absence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and a separate determination of whether the latter ... outweigh the former....” At 520-521, 815 P.2d at 889-890. None of this is required by the constitution, yet Justices Moeller and Corcoran do not dispute the value of this constitutionally “unauthorized” (at 524, 815 P.2d at 893, Moeller, J. concurring) practice or recommend its abolition. Their point is that this review is good enough. At 521, 815 P.2d at 890. I disagree with this for several reasons.
First, they ask that we “ ‘lawfully may presume,’ without regard to comparative proportionality, that death sentences are not wantonly or freakishly imposed.” At 518, 815 P.2d at 887 (citation omitted). I cannot accept a presumption so contrary to everyday observation. Sadly, our history shows that death sentences have been arbitrarily, wantonly, and freakishly imposed, often on grounds of race, religion, or minority status. Although we all hope this sad chapter of American history is over, there is no evidence that the consequences of bigotry have been completely eliminated. Even if they have, it is obvious the rich man is much more likely to evade the death penalty than the poor man, the defendant with a good lawyer has a much better chance than the defendant with a poor lawyer, and variations in prosecutors, judges, juries, community emotions, and the type of victim all play some part in the results.
Thus, as Justice Corcoran points out, “an appropriate comparative function” is important. At 521, 815 P.2d at 890. Indeed, even in non-capital cases the United States Supreme Court admonishes us that an “analysis under the Eighth Amendment should be guided by objective criteria, including ... sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction____” Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 292, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3011, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983). It is hard, of course, to reconcile the holding in Solem with the result in Pulley, but this court recently applied such a comparative proportionality analysis in opinions written by Justice Corcoran involving non-capital offenses. See State v. Bartlett, 164 Ariz. 229, 792 P.2d 692 (1990); State v. Jonas, 164 Ariz. 242, 792 P.2d 705 (1990). Surely, if we are to perform a comparative proportionality analysis in non-capital cases, we should continue to undertake it in capital cases.
The inequalities in our system of justice, the occasional miscarriage of justice, inconsistency of result, discrepancies attributa*526ble to wealth, and our history of treatment of various minorities show that a comparative analysis is essential in death cases. I reject the proposition, implicit in the proposal to abolish proportionality review, that a system designed to eliminate aberrant results need never be checked for resulting aberrations.
I believe this, too, is implicit in Justice Corcoran’s concurrence: “By verifying that certain aggravating or mitigating circumstances apply only to cases involving similar facts, our independent review performs an appropriate comparative function.” At 521, 815 P.2d at 890. What is a comparative review that “occasionally weighs leniency afforded other defendants as a mitigating factor” (id. at 521, 815 P.2d at 890) if not a proportionality review?
If there is some difference between this “appropriate comparative function” and the type of proportionality review this court has professed to make since State v. Richmond, 114 Ariz. 186, 560 P.2d 41 (1976), then I believe even more strongly that we should continue with the separate proportionality review. The purpose of proportionality review is not “complete uniformity” at the expense of “individualized assessment____” At 523-524, 815 P.2d at 892-893. To the contrary, by closely comparing the circumstances of individual crimes and criminals, proportionality review enables us to meet our constitutional obligation to see that the death penalty is imposed only on the most extraordinary of criminals for the most extraordinary of crimes. State v. Watson, 129 Ariz. 60, 63, 628 P.2d 943, 946 (1981). See also Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 187, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2931-32, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976) (“There is no question that death as a punishment is unique in its severity and irrevocability ... an extreme sanction, suitable to the most extreme of crimes”).
Neither does proportionality review inject any additional “subjective variable” or “unbridled discretion.” At 524, 517, 815 P.2d at 893, 886. Indeed, the Supreme Court has explicitly identified the comparison of sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction as “objective criteria.” Solem, 463 U.S. at 292, 103 S.Ct. at 3011. I am frankly unable to discern how comparing the circumstances of individual crimes and criminals adds to the subjectivity of an independent review that already requires us to determine whether the death penalty should be reduced because the mitigating circumstances “outweigh” the aggravating. At 521, 815 P.2d at 890. This “weighing,” after all, is not performed on a scale but. by judges using their judgment.
This means only that we should improve our procedures, not that we should abandon a tool that performs a unique function. Trial judges are intimately concerned only with the cases that come to their own courtrooms. It is impossible for them to compare the case before them with other cases that have never come before them. By statute (A.R.S. § 13-4031) and by practice, only this court reviews every Arizona case in which the death penalty has been imposed. The extra bit of effort for proportionality review provides added insight that sometimes results in affirmance of the death penalty and in other cases reduction. Compare State v. Libberton, 141 Ariz. 132, 685 P.2d 1284 (1984), with State v. Fierro, 166 Ariz. 539, 804 P.2d 72 (1990). Surely it is not too much to ask this court to compare the facts and circumstances of all the capital cases that come before it in an attempt to see that capital punishment is imposed with some degree of equality and consistency.
No human system can achieve perfection, especially when applying the abstract concept of “justice” to the stark reality of imposing the ultimate penalty. While the law may require us to play God by choosing who shall live and who shall die, I believe it is incumbent on us to recognize our own fallibility and use every method available to reduce our errors.
Thus, I join with Justice Cameron in believing that this court should continue with its current practice of proportionality reviews.