Case summaries - January 21, 2010
Death penalty - full affirmance
People v. Martinez (Ca. Sup. Ct., 1/14/10, S074624) ___ Cal.4th ___
Court rejects arguments of: failure to conduct inquiry into juror bias; admissibility of confession; refusal to give instructions on consent as defense; prosecutorial misconduct; victim impact evidence; constitutionality of California death penalty law.
Free speech - sort of
Citizens United v. FEC (U.S. Sup. Ct., 1/21/10, 08-205) ___ U.S. ___
In bitter 5-4 decision, majority (Kennedy writing) rules corporations may not be stopped from using general treasury funds to make "electioneering communications" for or against candidates within 30 days of election. Disclosure rules upheld as applied.
Habeas corpus - federal - Cone error by court of appeals
Wellons v. Hall (U.S. Sup. Ct., 1/19/10, 09-5731) ___ U.S. ___
Citing the "disturbing facts of this case" (jury may have given judge gift of chocolate shaped as genitals and bailiff chocolate breasts), per curiam decision remands case back to 11th Circuit to deal with matter on merits, citing to Cone v. Bell (2009) 556 U.S. ___ (when state court declines merits review on ground it has done so already, there is no bar to federal habeas review). Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts dissent.
Habeas corpus - federal -
Wood v. Allen (U.S. Sup. Ct., 1/20/10, 08-9156) ___ U.S. ___
Although term "unreasonable" application of federal constitutional law is difficult to define, state court factual determination is not automatically unreasonable because federal court would have reached different conclusion in first instance. Putting inexperienced counsel in charge of penalty phase does not speak to whether it was tactical decision but to whether judgment was reasonable, question not before the Court.
Public trial - exclusion of spectator from jury selection requires reversal
Presley v. Georgia (U.S. Sup. Ct., 1/19/10, 09-5270) ___ U.S. ___
Without making any finding that spectator (defendant's uncle) was doing anything wrong Georgia judge removed him from courtroom during jury selection solely because he would be sitting among prospective jurors. In per curiam opinion, Court reverses Georgia Supreme Court's affirmance of conviction. Thomas and Scalia dissent.
Sentencing - Penal Code section 654
People v. Alford (3rd Dist., 1/13/10, C060251) ___ Cal.App.4th ___
When trial court determines that Penal Code section 654 (barring multiple punishment when one act violates more than one law) applies to a particular count, trial court must impose sentence on that count and then stay execution of that sentence. No authority for court to fail to impose sentence on all counts. Disapproves Cal. Rule of Court 4.424.
