State v. Atwood

Citation171 Ariz. 576,832 P.2d 593
Decision Date09 April 1992
Docket NumberNo. CR-87-0135-AP,CR-87-0135-AP
PartiesSTATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Frank Jarvis ATWOOD, Appellant.
CourtSupreme Court of Arizona

Grant Woods, Atty. Gen. by Bruce M. Ferg, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tucson, for appellee.

Carla G. Ryan, Tucson, for appellant.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS
                DISPOSITION ........................ 591
                ISSUES PRESENTED ON DIRECT APPEAL .. 591
                ISSUES PRESENTED ON CROSS-APPEAL ... 592
                THE LENGTH OF THIS OPINION ......... 592
                FACTS .............................. 592
                I.    The Disappearance ............ 592
                II.   The Preliminary Investigation  592
                III.  The Suspect .................. 593
                IV.   The Arrest ................... 593
                V.    The Charges Against Defendant ....................................... 594
                VI.   The Case Against Defendant .......................................... 594
                      A.    The Sightings ................................................. 595
                      B.    The Scientific Evidence ....................................... 595
                      C.    The Defendant's Actions and Statements ........................ 595
                      D.    The Evidence of Motive ........................................ 596
                

DISCUSSION OF ISSUES PRESENTED ON DIRECT APPEAL

                1.    Sufficiency of Evidence to Support the Convictions .................. 596
                      A.    The Kidnapping ................................................ 597
                      B.    The Murder .................................................... 598
                2.    Alleged Ineffective Assistance of Counsel ........................... 599
                3.    Eyewitness Identifications .......................................... 602
                      A.    Media Exposure ................................................ 602
                      B.    Other Pretrial Viewings ....................................... 603
                4.    Denial of Exhumation ................................................ 604
                5.    Alleged Prosecutorial and Police Misconduct ......................... 605
                      A.    Alleged Investigative Misconduct
                             1.    Burial of Victim's Remains ............................. 605
                             2.    Police Investigation ................................... 605
                             3.    The "Cuckoo File" ...................................... 606
                      B.    Alleged Misconduct Before the Grand Jury ...................... 607
                      C.    Alleged Prosecutorial Contact with the Media .................. 607
                      D.    Alleged Trial Misconduct ...................................... 608
                             1.    Witness's Reference to Polygraph ....................... 608
                             2.    Emotional Witness ...................................... 609
                             3.    Testimony of Victim's Mother ........................... 609
                             4.    Testimony Concerning Underpants Found Near Victim's
                                     Remains .............................................. 609
                             5.    Comments Made by Prosecutor ............................ 610
                6.    Consolidation and Severance ......................................... 611
                7.    Defendant's Arrest, Detention and Interrogation, and the Searches
                        of Defendant's Car
                      A.    The Arrest .................................................... 613
                      B.    The Detention and Interrogation ............................... 615
                      C.    The Searches .................................................. 616
                             1.    The First Search ....................................... 616
                             2.    The Second Search ...................................... 618
                      D.    Defendant's Statements to the FBI ............................. 618
                8.    Defendant's Motion for Continuance .................................. 620
                9.    Jury Selection ...................................................... 621
                10.   "Death Qualification" of Jury ....................................... 624
                11.   Jury Instructions ................................................... 624
                      A.    Kidnapping Instruction ........................................ 624
                      B.    Felony Murder Instruction ..................................... 625
                      C.    Unanimous Verdict Instruction ................................. 625
                      D.    Denial of Willits Instructions ................................ 626
                      E.    Denial of Unlawful Imprisonment Instruction ................... 628
                      F.    Denial of Instructions on Lesser Included Offenses of First
                              Degree Murder ............................................... 629
                12, 13 and 14.  Publicity and the Jury ..................................... 630
                15.   Publicity and Fair Trial ............................................ 630
                16.   Courtroom Decorum ................................................... 633
                17.   Evidentiary Rulings ................................................. 634
                      A.    Defendant's Statements
                             1.    Defendant's Story ...................................... 635
                             2.    Defendant's Statement on the Telephone ................. 636
                      B
                      Defendant's Letter and Statements to Ernest Bernsienne                637
                      C
                      Testimony of Paul Larmour                                             639
                      D
                      Testimony of Sam Hall                                                 640
                      E
                      Limitation on Cross-Examination of James Corby                        640
                      F
                      Admission of Defendant's Knives                                       641
                      G.
                      Admission of Underpants                                               642
                      H.
                      Videotapes of Defendant in Custody                                    643
                18.   The Death Sentence .................................................. 645
                      A.    Constitutionality of Arizona's Death Penalty Statute .......... 646
                      B.    Defendant's 1975 Conviction for Lewd and Lascivious Conduct
                              as an Aggravating Circumstance .............................. 646
                      C.    The Trial Court's Finding of No Mitigating Circumstances
                              under A.R.S. § 13-703(G) .................................... 648
                             1.    The Trial Court's Felony Murder Instruction ...........  648
                                   a.   The Felony Murder Instruction ..................... 648
                                   b.   The Trial Judge's Failure to Make Specific
                                          Enmund/McDaniel Findings ........................ 649
                             2.    Defendant's Heavy Drug Use ............................. 650
                             3.    Defendant's Demeanor During Trial ...................... 651
                             4.    Defendant's Parents' Support ........................... 652
                             5.    The Cause of the Victim's Death Was Not Established .... 652
                             6.    Defendant's Age ........................................ 652
                             7.    Lingering Doubt of Guilt ............................... 653
                             8.    Defendant's Cooperation at the Time of His Arrest ...... 653
                             9.    Defendant's Sympathy for the Victim's Family ........... 653
                            10.    Defendant's I.Q......................................... 653
                            11.    Defendant's Concern for His Parents .................... 654
                            12.    Defendant's Lack of a Violent Prior Record ............. 654
                            13.    Defendant's Not Causing His Prior Felonies ............. 655
                            14.    Defendant's Adjustment to Incarceration andHis
                                     Adoption of New Goals ................................ 655
                      D.    Victim Impact Evidence ........................................ 655
                      E.    Conclusion .................................................... 657
                19.   The Kidnapping Sentence ............................................. 657
                20.   Computerization of the Record ....................................... 657
                21.   Limitation on Length of Defendant's Opening Brief ................... 658
                DISCUSSION OF ISSUES PRESENTED ON CROSS-APPEAL ............................ 659
                22.   The Informant's Testimony ........................................... 659
                23.   The Especially Heinous, Cruel, or Depraved Aggravating Circumstance . 660
                24.   The Rule in Gillies ................................................. 660
                CONCLUSION ................................................................ 660
                SPECIAL CONCURRENCE by Chief Justice Feldman .............................. 660
                SPECIAL CONCURRENCE by Justice Corcoran ................................... 660
                I.    The Enmund/McDaniel Finding ......................................... 660
                II.   The Kidnapping Sentence ............................................. 661
                III.  The Informant's Testimony ........................................... 663
                      A.    The Facts Surrounding Defendant's Incarceration, the Dates on
                              Which the State Charged Defendant with Kidnapping and
                              Murder, and the Trial Court's Ruling on Defendant's Motion
                              to Suppress the Informant's Testimony
                             1.    The Facts and the Dates ................................ 663
                             2.    The Trial Court's Ruling ............................... 665
                      B.    The Scope of the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel and the
                              Remedy for its Violation
                             1.    The Right to Counsel ................................... 666
                             2.    The Exclusionary Rule .................................. 667
                      C.    Did the Trial Court Err in Excluding The Informant's
                              Testimony During the Guilt Proceedings Against Defendant? ... 667
                             1.    The Informant as a State Agent ......................... 668
                             2.    Defendant's Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel ........... 668
                             3.    The Exclusionary Rule .................................. 668
                      D.    Did the Trial Court Err in Excluding The Informant's
                              Testimony During the Sentencing Proceedings Against
...

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