People v. Aranda, S188204.

• Decision Date: 27 August 2012
• Docket Number: No. S188204.,S188204.
• Citation: 12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9798,283 P.3d 632,55 Cal.4th 342,2012 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11840,145 Cal.Rptr.3d 855
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Anthony ARANDA, Jr., Defendant and Appellant.

55 Cal.4th 342

283 P.3d 632

145 Cal.Rptr.3d 855

12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9798

2012 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,840

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Anthony ARANDA, Jr., Defendant and Appellant.

No. S188204.

Supreme Court of California

Aug. 27, 2012.

See 6 Witkin & Epstein, Cal. Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Reversible Error, § 17 et seq.

William J. Capriola, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Kamala D. Harris, Attorneys General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Gary W. Schons and Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorneys General, Pamela Ratner Sobeck, Raymond M. DiGuiseppe, Steven T. Oetting and Tami Falkenstein Hennick, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

CANTIL–SAKAUYE, C.J.

It is a fundamental precept of our criminal justice system that before a jury may convict a defendant of a criminal offense, it must find that the prosecution has proved all elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State law and the federal Constitution require the trial court to instruct with regard to this fundamental principle when it advises the jurors of the applicable rules of law that govern their deliberation and decision. In California, a trial court ordinarily satisfies this obligation by instructing the jury under one of two “pattern” or “standard” reasonable doubt instructions. (See CALCRIM No. 220, CALJIC No. 2.90, hereafter sometimes referred to as the standard reasonable doubt instruction.)

In the present case, defendant was charged with two separate crimes, murder and participation in a criminal street gang (hereafter sometimes referred to as the gang offense). After the conclusion of the presentation of evidence and closing arguments, when the trial court instructed the jurors on the applicable legal principles immediately prior to their deliberations, the court inadvertently failed to include the standard reasonable doubt instruction. With regard to the murder charge, however, the trial court's instructions did inform the jury that in order to find defendant guilty of that crime, or any lesser offense included in that crime, it must find that the prosecution had proved each of the required elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. By contrast, the court's instructions relating to the gang offense did not indicate that every element of that charge must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury returned verdicts acquitting defendant of murder and finding him guilty of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. It also found defendant guilty of the gang offense.

The question before us is whether the court's failure to include the standard reasonable doubt instruction in its predeliberation instructions in this case constituted error with regard to either the voluntary manslaughter conviction or the gang offense conviction and, if so, whether the error can and should be found harmless. In resolving those questions, we must consider both California and federal law because the inquiry is different depending upon whether the error arises from state law or from the federal Constitution.

For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that, in light of the instructions that were given with respect to the murder charge in this case, the trial court's omission of the standard reasonable doubt instruction did not constitute federal constitutional error as to the voluntary manslaughter conviction. Although the omission amounted to state law error as to that conviction because the court's other instructions did not include a definition of the term “reasonable doubt” as required by state law, we conclude that the state law error was harmless because there is no reasonable probability that the outcome would have been more favorable to defendant had the trial court's instructions at trial included a definition of “reasonable doubt.”

With respect to the separate gang offense, the trial court's predeliberation instructions to jurors failed to explain that defendant could not be convicted unless the prosecution proved the elements of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt. We conclude that this omission constituted error under both state law and the federal Constitution. Furthermore, we conclude that the error, like most instructional errors of federal constitutional dimension, is amenable to harmless error analysis under Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705( Chapman ), and is not reversible per se. Our conclusion in this regard resolves a disagreement among the Courts of Appeal.

Applying the Chapman harmless error standard to assess the error's effect upon the jury's verdict on the gang offense, we conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that in light of the particular circumstances of this case as revealed by the record, there is no reasonable possibility that the jury did not apply the reasonable doubt standard of proof when it found defendant guilty of the gang offense. Accordingly, unlike the Court of Appeal, we conclude that this instructional error does not require reversal of defendant's conviction of the gang offense.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

Evidence introduced at trial showed that on a Friday night in September 2004, defendant attended a house party in Hemet where many of the partygoers, including defendant and the victim, Luis Gonzalez, were members of criminal street gangs. A failed drug transaction that had been initiated at the party ultimately led to a large backyard brawl. In the aftermath of the fight, defendant and others argued with Gonzalez, demanding that he leave the party. Defendant fatally shot Gonzalez when, according to defendant, Gonzalez rushed toward him waving a rock.

Defendant was charged with the crimes of murder and actively participating in a criminal street gang.¹ ( Pen.Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 186.22, subd. (a).) ² In connection with the murder count, it was alleged that defendant committed that crime to benefit a criminal street gang ( § 186.22, subd. (b)), and by means of personally and intentionally discharging a firearm (§§ 12022.5, subd. (a), 12022.53, subd. (d)). It was further alleged for sentencing purposes that defendant had served three prior prison terms. (§ 667.5, subd. (b).)

Nine of the trial court's predeliberation instructions specifically referred to the prosecution's burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. One such instruction concerned the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to prove guilt. (CALJIC No. 2.01.) Five instructions relating to homicide also referenced the reasonable doubt standard of proof. These instructions related to the degrees of murder (CALJIC No. 8.71), the availability of a manslaughter conviction in lieu of murder (CALJIC No. 8.72), the difference between murder and manslaughter (CALJIC No. 8.50), the so-called “acquittal first” rule for returning verdicts on the greater and lesser homicide offenses (CALJIC No. 8.75), and the definition of justifiable homicide (CALJIC No. 5.15). The court also instructed on the reasonable doubt standard of proof when describing the elements of the three sentence enhancement allegations related to the murder count. (See CALJIC Nos. 17.19, 17.24.2.)

The jury acquitted defendant of murder and convicted him of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter (§ 192, subd. (a)). It found not true the gang enhancement allegation related to the murder charge, but found the firearm allegations to be true.³ The jury also found defendant guilty of the gang offense. Defendant later admitted the three prior prison term allegations, and the court sentenced him to a total prison term of 24 years eight months.⁴

On appeal, defendant challenged his convictions on the ground that the trial court had erroneously failed to instruct the jury with CALJIC No. 2.90, the standard instruction on the presumption of innocence and the prosecution's burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (See also CALCRIM No. 220.) The Court of Appeal agreed with defendant that the instructional omission amounted to federal constitutional error but upheld the voluntary manslaughter conviction, finding as to that count that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under Chapman, supra, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, because it was cured by the court's other detailed instructions. The Court of Appeal reversed the gang offense conviction, however, concluding that there was “no cure” for the trial court's error in that respect and that, therefore, the error could not be considered harmless as to that count.

Defendant petitioned for review, arguing that omission of the standard reasonable doubt instruction constituted structural error requiring automatic reversal of all convictions without regard to prejudice and that, even if such error were amenable to harmless error analysis, the Court of Appeal unreasonably concluded that it was harmless as to the voluntary manslaughter conviction. We granted defendant's petition for review to resolve a conflict in the Courts of Appeal regarding whether the erroneous failure to give the standard reasonable doubt instruction is reversible per se or is subject to harmless error review.

II. Discussion

A. California's standard reasonable doubt instruction

California law imposes a duty on the trial court to instruct the jury in a criminal case on the presumption of innocence in favor of the defendant and the prosecution's burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Specifically, Evidence Code section 502 requires a trial court to instruct the jury concerning which party bears the burden of proof on each issue, and the applicable standardof proof.⁵ The prosecution's burden of proof in a criminal case is controlled by section 1096 of the Penal Code,⁶ the substance of which has, in turn, been incorporated into the standard reasonable doubt instructions, CALJIC No. 2.90 and CALCRIM No. 220. Tracking the language of section 1096, the standard instructions describe...