concluding that unchallenged inappropriate comments and gestures from the trial judge, along with the defendant's improperly admitted criminal history and the court's refusal to admit films to corroborate the defendant's claim of victim's tendencies toward violent sexual conduct constituted cumulative error requiring a new trial
How later courts described this case
- concluding that unchallenged inappropriate comments and gestures from the trial judge, along with the defendant's improperly admitted criminal history and the court's refusal to admit films to corroborate the defendant's claim of victim's tendencies toward violent sexual conduct constituted cumulative error requiring a new trial
- stating that 6 cumulative error “requires reversal of a defendant’s conviction when the cumulative 7 impact of errors which occurred at trial was so prejudicial that the defendant was 8 deprived of a fair trial”
- determining that the defendant’s argument that the district judge made unnecessary statements to defense counsel was not properly preserved for review where no objections were made to the statements at trial
- holding that an appellate court may not consider matters not of record
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
WALTERS, Justice (specially concurring).
I concur in all portions of the majority opinion except Point III B. I believe the Court of Appeals was correct in State v. Gallegos, and that the 1982 addition to the Use Note referred to by the majority was improvidently approved. The jury’s obligation to render a true verdict should be fulfilled without concern for the consequences of the verdict. Either UJI Crim. 50.06 ought to be given, as promulgated, in all cases without elaboration, or not in any.
As amended, the Use Note for UJI Crim. 50.06 still forbids a jury to know that death may be the penalty for one accused and convicted in a capital murder case, thus properly anesthetizing any feelings of sympathy or of guilty conscience that might influence its deliberations if it were aware that death would result from a verdict of guilty; but it permits advising a jury when death will not be sought as the penalty, thereby tacitly encouraging a guilty verdict because the conscience-cleansing instruction informs the jury that, even if it finds defendant guilty, it will not have had a role in putting defendant to death. Such subtle pressures on a jury’s verdict are improper and should not be condoned.