Court Opinion

ID: 9746129
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:01:10.481743+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:09.393230
License: Public Domain

MOORE, J.,
Concurring and Dissenting.- — I concur with my colleagues that there is substantial evidence to support defendant’s murder conviction based on the felony-murder rule. But I think his sentence of two life sentences, running consecutively and totaling 50 years to life, is disproportionate and cannot withstand scrutiny under either the California Constitution or the United States Constitution.
At the time of the murder, defendant was 15. He was passively involved and immature. Two sentences of 25 years to life, running concurrently instead of consecutively, would withstand scrutiny. With such a sentence defendant would be stiffly punished, the public would be protected, corrections officials would be able to gauge any attempts defendant made to rehabilitate himself, and, should he earn parole, defendant would still have some opportunity at living a normal life. Society would be served if defendant had a glimmer of hope to motivate him to rehabilitate.
The probation report has some information about defendant, although it is difficult to glean exactly what the truth is since defendant, himself, is the source of much of the information in the report. He was bom in July 1990. He never met his father. Concerned that he was at risk, his mother shipped him off to live with other family members in Victorville for two years, until he became homesick. Once home again, “he immediately began having ‘racial problems’ with the Hispanic community” and was offered protection by an Asian criminal street gang.
Defendant told the probation officer he resisted the gang’s early attempts to recruit him, but when he was 14 he began associating with them. He said at one point he tried to disassociate himself, but they “jumped” him “for disrespecting the gang.” In 2005, while he was still 14, he was arrested for possessing a dirk or dagger. At that time, he admitted he was a member of a criminal street gang and had the moniker of “Baby Lazy.”
In 2006, he asked his mother if he could switch high schools to get away from the gang element, so his mother drove him to a high school in a different city on her way to work. But three days prior to their killing Miguel Davila, while shopping for shoes, defendant ran into his co-defendant, Thongdeng. By then he was 15 years old.
*979In discussing the situation, the probation officer noted: “He subsequently found himself tom between what was expected by his friends and what he knew would be in his best interest . . . .” On the night of the murder, defendant was at home under house arrest because of his previous crime, and had already refused to go out with one friend, when Thongdeng arrived at his house. He said he agreed to go out on the condition he would be back home in 30 minutes. According to defendant, a short time later, while at the carwash, when he realized Thongdeng had decided to rob Davila, he told him to “chill.”
The probation officer summed up the situation: “The defendant was an active participant in gang activity and was vicariously armed at the time of this offense. He may have been a passive participant but he was nevertheless equally involved. Assuming the defendant is telling the truth and did not know in advance what they were going to do, he could have left upon realizing what the co-defendant was doing. Instead, by his own admission he followed after him and at the very least, stood by and watched. Later, as they were leaving he made eye contact with the victim who was crying out in pain and honking the horn in an effort to signal for help. [¶] The defendant has expressed regret in this matter but he has not conveyed trae remorse. He presented himself as very frightened and is obviously immature. If it were not for the seriousness and gravity of the offense, it is felt the defendant would have been suitable for probation, but based on his convictions in this matter, he is neither eligible, nor suitable for a grant of probation. On behalf of the victim’s family, as well as the future protection of the community, a lengthy state prison commitment is clearly warranted.”
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution declares: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The clause is “applicable to sentences for terms of years.” (Lockyer v. Andrade (2003) 538 U.S. 63, 72 [155 L.Ed.2d 144, 123 S.Ct. 1166].)
Article I, section 17, of the California Constitution proscribes “[c]ruel or unusual punishment.” A prison sentence runs afoul of article I, section 17, if it is “so disproportionate to the crime for which it is inflicted that it shocks the conscience and offends fundamental notions of human dignity.” (In re Lynch (1972) 8 Cal.3d 410, 424 [105 Cal.Rptr. 217, 503 P.2d 921], fn. omitted.)
“With respect to ‘the nature of the offense,’ we recognize that when it is viewed in the abstract robbery-murder presents a very high level of . . . danger, second only to deliberate and premeditated murder with malice aforethought. In conducting this inquiry, however, the courts are to consider *980not only the offense in the abstract — i.e., as defined by the Legislature — but also ‘the facts of the crime in question’ [citation] — i.e., the totality of the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense in the case at bar, including such factors as its motive, the way it was committed, the extent of the defendant’s involvement, and the consequences of his acts. [¶] Secondly, it is obvious that the courts must also view ‘the nature of the offender’ in the concrete rather than the abstract: although the Legislature can define the offense in general terms, each offender is necessarily an individual. . . . This branch of the inquiry therefore focuses on the particular person before the court, and asks whether the punishment is grossly disproportionate to the defendant’s individual culpability as shown by such factors as his age, prior criminality, personal characteristics, and state of mind.” (People v. Dillon (1983) 34 Cal.3d 441, 479 [194 Cal.Rptr. 390, 668 P.2d 697].)
The significance of age has also been discussed by our United States Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons (2005) 543 U.S. 551 [161 L.Ed.2d 1, 125 S.Ct. 1183]. “Three general differences between juveniles under 18 and adults demonstrate that juvenile offenders cannot with reliability be classified among the worst offenders. First, ... ‘[a] lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility are found in youth more often than in adults and are more understandable among the young. These qualities often result in impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions.’ [Citations.] . . . [¶] The second area of difference is that juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure. [Citation.] . . . [¶] The third broad difference is that the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult. The personality traits of juveniles are more transitory, less fixed. [Citation.] [¶] These differences render suspect any conclusion that a juvenile falls among the worst offenders. The susceptibility of juveniles to immature and irresponsible behavior means ‘their irresponsible conduct is not as morally reprehensible as that of an adult.’ [Citation.] . . . The reality that juveniles still struggle to define their identity means it is less supportable to conclude that even a heinous crime committed by a juvenile is evidence of irretrievably depraved character. From a moral standpoint it would be misguided to equate the failings of a minor with those of an adult, for a greater possibility exists that a minor’s character deficiencies will be reformed.” (Id. at pp. 569-570.)
Age matters. Here defendant was 15. Dillon stressed that consequences also matter. And they certainly did in this situation. Had Mr. Davila not been murdered, defendant would have been eligible for probation.
“The exact scope of the constitutional phrase ‘cruel and unusual’ has not been detailed by this Court. But the basic policy reflected in these words is firmly established in the Anglo-American tradition of criminal justice. The *981phrase in our Constitution was taken directly from the English Declaration of Rights of 1688, and the principle it represents can be traced back to the Magna Carta. The basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man. While the State has the power to punish, the Amendment stands to assure that this power be exercised within the limits of civilized standards.” (Trop v. Dulles (1958) 356 U.S. 86, 99-100 [2 L.Ed.2d 630, 78 S.Ct. 590], fns. omitted.)
A 50-year prison term should be reserved for our worst offenders. A 50-year-to-life term for an immature 15 year old with an underdeveloped sense of responsibility, who was an aider and abettor and not the shooter, and who had a relatively minor criminal record, is not within the limits of civilized standards. It is cruel and unusual punishment.
Appellant’s petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied June 10, 2009, S171835.
Kennard, J., and Werdegar, J., were of the opinion that the petition should be granted.