Court Opinion

ID: 9750381
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:55:17.42733+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:08:07.395376
License: Public Domain

BUCKLEY, J.
I respectfully dissent. While I concur in the majority’s determination the trial court applied the wrong legal standard in ruling on appellant’s Wheeler motions, I am compelled to dissent from its holding this error mandates reversal. As I shall explain, this precise error was induced by defense counsel’s affirmative conduct. Hence, it was invited and is not cognizable on appeal.
As quoted in detail in part l.a. of the majority opinion, prior to the trial court’s final rulings on defense counsel’s second Wheeler motion and impaneling of the jury, the court made the following request: “I would like the standard, the legal standard which I’m to apply in order to re-evaluate this after I’ve read the Wheeler case but to make sure that I’m applying the right standard. So I’d like that just before—or after we break.” Defense counsel replied, “I’ll supply that to you.” The court acknowledged this offer, “All right. Thank you.” After the lunch break, the trial court asked counsel whether it had used the right standard. The prosecutor stated he “believed” the court had; defense counsel did not reply to the question and changed the subject to another topic. There is no indication in the record that defense counsel ever supplied the trial court with the correct legal standard as he had orally agreed to do.
Careful review of defense counsel’s actions reveals counsel did not merely fail to object to the trial court’s incorrect use of the “good cause” standard; rather, counsel affirmatively led the trial court into error. Defense counsel explicitly and voluntarily agreed to research applicable law during the lunch break that day and provide the court with the correct legal standard to be applied and in so doing caused the trial court to rely on trial counsel’s research. The trial court verbally accepted counsel’s representation he would do so. Apparently believing defense counsel had researched this issue during *1033the break, the trial court asked counsel that afternoon whether it had applied the “right” legal standard. The prosecutor answered in the affirmative and defense counsel did not respond on this point. In fact, rather than responding to the trial court’s query, defense counsel changed the subject, stating he felt the prosecutor was wrongly reducing the importance of the role of an alternate juror. By changing the subject, counsel impliedly assured the court it had applied the correct legal standard.
By these actions, defense counsel misled the court into believing it had correctly handled the Wheeler motions, that it had considered the correct factors and “articulated” the right standard—the same error claimed on appeal. Thus, defense counsel affirmatively aided the court in its commission of Wheeler error.
It has been held the invited-error doctrine can be applied to a jury instruction claim only if defense counsel has expressly articulated a tactical basis for requesting or refusing the instruction. (People v. Wickersham (1982) 32 Cal.3d 307, 330 [185 Cal.Rptr. 436, 650 P.2d 311]; People v. Bottger (1983) 142 Cal.App.3d 974, 979-980 [191 Cal.Rptr. 408].) However, when the error occurs during jury selection rather than instruction, explicit articulation of counsel’s tactical reason for the actions inviting the error claimed of on appeal is not required. In People v. Pride (1992) 3 Cal.4th 195 [10 Cal.Rptr.2d 636, 833 P.2d 643], the trial court denied defendant’s challenge for cause to four prospective jurors based on their expressed views regarding imposition of the death penalty. On appeal, defendant argued the court applied the wrong legal standard by assessing the challenges under Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968) 391 U.S. 510 [20 L.Ed.2d 776, 88 S.Ct. 1770] rather than Wainwright v. Witt (1985) 469 U.S. 412 [83 L.Ed.2d 841, 105 S.Ct. 844],1 Our Supreme Court ruled that defendant is “estopped to argue that the court applied the erroneous standard or that its rulings on these four challenges for cause were incorrect.” (Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 228.) The court relied on the following facts: “Here, the court and counsel discussed the effect of Witt before jury selection began. The court opined that no California cases had yet interpreted Witt but that it seemed to have ‘changed’ Witherspoon. Defense counsel disagreed, arguing that Witt ‘brought no substantial changes of any kind’ to the Witherspoon rule. The court immediately replied that it would ‘stick with the old way’—an apparent reference to Witherspoon.” (3 Cal.4th at p. 228.) The court concluded that “[u]nder the circumstances, any erroneous departure from Witt, supra, 469 U.S. 412, occurred at the request and with the approval of the defense,” and, therefore, “defendant is precluded from complaining about the trial court’s handling of *1034voir dire or defense challenges for cause on the issue of capital punishment.” (3 Cal.4th at p. 228.)
In People v. Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th 195, the Supreme Court made a finding of invited error based in part upon the conclusion the tactical purpose for counsel’s actions was “plausible and clear.” (Id. at p. 228.) The court declared: “Under the circumstances, any erroneous departure from Witt, supra, 469 U.S. 412, occurred at the request and with the approval of the defense. The tactical purpose behind such a stance was both plausible and clear: under Witherspoon, supra, 391 U.S. 510, the prosecution could excuse only those pro-life jurors who made their inability to impose the death penalty ‘unmistakably clear.’ ” (3 Cal.4th at p. 228, italics added.) Defense counsel’s tactical purpose was not explicitly articulated to the trial court. Rather, the high court inferred this purpose based upon its interpretation of the record as a whole. (Cf. People v. Brown (1962) 200 Cal.App.2d 111, 115-116 [19 Cal.Rptr. 36].)
Here, the strategic purpose behind defense counsel’s actions is likewise “plausible and clear.” This was a death penalty case in which the evidence against defendant was overwhelming and conviction likely. Defense counsel had great incentive to ensure a legal ground for reversal on appeal, especially as imposition of the death penalty was a distinct possibility. Even assuming defense counsel was unaware of the proper standard prior to the lunch break, in researching the applicable standard, counsel would have quickly learned the trial court had not evaluated the appropriate factors and that such error was prejudicial per se.2 However, given this was a special circumstance case, it is presumed defense counsel was an experienced criminal trial attorney, had previously filed Wheeler motions and was familiar with applicable law. Counsel’s silence in the face of a direct question by the trial court ensured the court would not learn of its faulty analysis, as the court was relying upon him to provide the applicable standard and the prosecutor had already stated he “believed” the court had applied the “right” standard.
By not informing the court it needed to reconsider the Wheeler motions by inquiring into and evaluating the genuineness of the prosecutor’s reasons, and by changing the subject when asked by the court whether it had applied the correct standard, counsel could proceed to trial and press for an acquittal with the knowledge that a reversal “was in the bank” if his client was convicted.
In People v. Brown, supra, 200 Cal.App.2d 111, the appellate court upheld a magistrate’s findings defendant had waived his right to a private hearing, *1035writing: “It also is apparent that counsel for the defendant wilfully withheld information respecting these requirements and these decisions. In the theatrical world such tactics might be classified as clever, but the courtroom is not a theatre, and the administration of justice is not a theatrical performance. The evidence before us supports an implied finding . . . that at the time the defendant made his original motion his action was not prompted by a desire to effect a private hearing, but with the hope that his request might be refused, and thus lay the foundation for a dismissal of all proceedings against him. Such conduct makes a mockery of justice.” (200 Cal.App.2d at pp. 115-116.) Likewise, here, the evidence “supports an implied finding” counsel’s actions reflect a conscious tactical choice, prompted by the desire to lay the foundation for reversal and that counsel’s actions did not result from mere ignorance or mistake. (200 Cal.App.2d at pp. 115-116; People v. Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 228.)
The totality of the circumstances demonstrates the trial court’s erroneous application of the good-cause standard and continued reliance on it was “induced by [defense counsel’s] own conduct. He [led the] judge into substantial error”; hence, appellant may not complain of the results of his efforts on appeal. (People v. Katzman (1968) 258 Cal.App.2d 777, 792 [66 Cal.Rptr. 319].) Therefore, it is my opinion appellant is precluded from contesting the trial court’s rulings on his Wheeler motions. (People v. Pride, supra, 3 Cal.4th at p. 228.)
The majority argues invited error analysis is inapplicable to Wheeler error. On the contrary, while Pride is factually distinguishable from the instant situation, it establishes that the invited-error doctrine may be applied to jury selection issues, despite the constitutional significance of jury selection and the reversible per se standard applicable to such errors. Like Wheeler error, a finding of Witherspoon/Witt error also mandates retrial, although solely of the penalty phase. (People v. Washington (1969) 71 Cal.2d 1061, 1090-1091 [80 Cal.Rptr. 567, 458 P.2d 479].) Thus, our Supreme Court has not found the United States Constitution and cases such as Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 [90 L.Ed.2d 69, 106 S.Ct. 1712] and Witherspoon v. Illinois, supra, 391 U.S. 510, to be insurmountable hurdles to application of the invited-error doctrine.3 Since the California Supreme Court has not found the supremacy clause forecloses application of the invited-error doctrine to jury selection issues, such an analysis is not barred here.
The majority expresses concern that application of the invited-error doctrine would leave unredressed the harm caused to the excluded jurors and the *1036public by the impermissible exclusion of minority jurors, relying on Batson v. Kentucky, supra, 476 U.S. 79. It is true Batson declared that “Racial discrimination in selection of jurors harms not only the accused whose life or liberty they are summoned to try,” but injures the excluded jurors and the entire community as well. (Id. at p. 87 [90 L.Ed.2d at p. 81].) However, the majority fails to acknowledge the fundamental distinction between Batson and the instant case. Here, the record before this court is completely devoid of any evidence demonstrating the prosecutor exercised his peremptory challenges in a racially biased manner. Rather, what is before this court is a classic “legal technicality.” Defendant’s charges of racial bias in exclusion of jurors were explored at length. Because the trial court failed to enunciate the “magic words,” reversal and remand is mandated. Yet, this court cannot lose sight of the fact that the Wheeler hearings (botched as they were) failed to reveal any significant evidence demonstrating the alleged bias. In fact, the defense excused more Hispanic jurors than did the prosecution and two jurors with Hispanic surnames were ultimately part of the jury as impaneled. Unlike cases such as People v. Hall (1983) 35 Cal.3d 161 [197 Cal.Rptr. 71, 672 P.2d 854] and others in which there was clear evidence the prosecutor was acting improperly and thus injuring our entire system of justice and the community, there is no such evidence here. Based on a thorough review of the transcript of the voir dire, the Wheeler hearings and the jury questionnaires, it can confidently be determined the prosecutor was not improperly excluding minorities. Hence, the trial court’s failure to articulate the right standard resulted in no harm to defendant, the excluded jurors or the public. Therefore, the concerns raised in Batson are not implicated here.
For the many reasons enunciated above, I conclude application of the invited-error doctrine is not precluded in jury selection issues.
I am aware that had the majority adopted my view, appellant may well have filed a petition for habeas corpus arguing defense counsel did not make a tactical decision to renege on its promise to the court but rather acted out of ignorance and was therefore “ineffective.” However, even assuming the veracity of such an allegation if made, the record does not support a finding appellant suffered any prejudice as a result of defense counsel’s conduct. Appellant did not express dissatisfaction with the jury as impaneled and it cannot be demonstrated prospective jurors Gustavo, Rodriguez or Raping would have voted differently than did the jurors who rendered the verdicts against him. (See, e.g., People v. Caro (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1035, 1047 [251 Cal.Rptr. 757, 761 P.2d 680].) In addition, as was briefly discussed in part 2 of the majority opinion, the evidence against defendant was overwhelming and the defense implausible, at best. No reasonable jury, no matter how *1037constituted, could have believed his story. Thus, in my opinion, had the majority held defense counsel invited the Wheeler error and affirmed the judgment, a subsequent attempt to obtain reversal based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel would have failed.
I concur in the majority opinion in all other respects.
A petition for a rehearing was denied June 29, 1994, and the petitions of both respondent and appellant for review by the Supreme Court were denied September 8, 1994. Mosk, J., and George, J., were of the opinion that the petitions should be granted.

Wainwright v. Witt, supra, 469 U.S. 412 had been decided about a year and a half before jury selection began in Pride and clarified Witherspoon v. Illinois, supra, 391 U.S. 510.

In so doing, I take defense counsel at his word that he would research the applicable standard.

Contrary to the majority’s opinion, when one is facing the death penalty, one no doubt finds the prospective jurors’ “feelings about the death penalty” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 1030) to be at least equally as important as their race.