People v. Hamilton

• Decision Date: 19 May 1988
• Citation: 753 P.2d 1109,247 Cal.Rptr. 31,45 Cal.3d 351
• Court: California Supreme Court
• Parties: , 753 P.2d 1109 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Bernard Lee HAMILTON, Defendant and Appellant. In re Bernard Lee HAMILTON on Habeas Corpus. Crim. 21958, Crim. 25303 and Crim. S001870.

Page 31

247 Cal.Rptr. 31

45 Cal.3d 351, 753 P.2d 1109

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Bernard Lee HAMILTON, Defendant and Appellant.

In re Bernard Lee HAMILTON on Habeas Corpus.

Crim. 21958, Crim. 25303 and Crim. S001870.

Supreme Court of California,

In Bank.

May 19, 1988.

As Modified on Denial of Rehearing July 28, 1988.

Barry L. Morris, Oakland, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for defendant and appellant and petitioner.

John K. Van de Kamp, Atty. Gen., Steve White, Chief Asst. Atty. Gen., Harley D. Mayfield, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jay M. Bloom, John W. Carney, Michael D. Wellington and Pat Zaharopoulos, Deputy Attys. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

MOSK, Justice.

The cause in Crim. 21958 is before us on remand from the United States Supreme Court, 478 U.S. 1017, 106 S.Ct. 3328, 92 L.Ed.2d 734. It was last here on automatic appeal from a judgment of death. (Pen.Code, § 1239, subd. (b).) Defendant was convicted of first degree murder (id., § 187), kidnapping (id., § 207), robbery (id., § 211), and burglary (id., § 459). He was found to have committed the murder in the course of robbery (id., § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i)), kidnapping (id., subd. (a)(17)(ii)), and burglary (id., subd. (a)(17)(vii)). He admitted that he had previously suffered convictions for forgery (id., § 470) and for two counts of burglary (id., § 459). He was sentenced to death.

When the cause was previously before us we held there was no reversible error at the guilt phase of the trial, but that under the general rule of automatic reversal of People v. Garcia (1984) 36 Cal.3d 539, 205 Cal.Rptr. 265, 684 P.2d 826, the court's failure to instruct in accordance with Carlos v. Superior Court (1983) 35 Cal.3d 131, 197 Cal.Rptr. 79, 672 P.2d 862, that intent to kill was an element of the felony-murder special circumstances, required the setting aside of the special circumstance findings and hence the reversal of the judgment of death. (People v. Hamilton (1985) 41 Cal.3d 408, 221 Cal.Rptr. 902, 710 P.2d 981 [Hamilton I ].)

After seeking rehearing in this court without success, the Attorney General petitioned the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. The court granted the petition, ordered our judgment vacated, and remanded the cause for reconsideration in light of its decision in Rose v. Clark (1986) 478 U.S. 570, 106 S.Ct. 3101, 92 L.Ed.2d 460.

Subsequently, defendant in propria persona filed two petitions for writ of habeas corpus. (Crim. 25303 and S001870.) We consolidate the cause in Crim. 21958 and the proceedings in Crim. 25303 and S001870 for purposes of decision.

As we shall explain, we conclude, as we concluded in Hamilton I, that the judgment must be affirmed as to guilt. Contrary to our determination in Hamilton I, we now conclude that the special circumstance findings must be upheld: under People v. Anderson (1987) 43 Cal.3d 1104, 1147, 240 Cal.Rptr. 585, 742 P.2d 1306, the court was not obligated to instruct on intent to kill with regard to the special circumstances here; and defendant does not present any other ground for setting aside the findings. We also conclude that the judgment must be affirmed as to penalty. Finally, we conclude that the petitions for writ of habeas corpus must be denied.

I. DIRECT APPEAL (CRIM. 21958)

A. The Facts

The facts of this case, which appear in Hamilton I at pages 413 to 419 of 41 Cal.3d, 221 Cal.Rptr. 902, 710 P.2d 981, are relevant to our decision and are accordingly quoted in extenso below.

The evidence presented in the prosecution's case-in-chief tells the following tale. "On May 31, 1979, about 1 p.m., the body of Eleanore Frances Buchanan was discovered in the grass near a cul-de-sac off Pine Valley Road, near San Diego. Harry Piper noticed it while walking back to his car from target shooting. The body had no head or hands and was clothed only in a bra, underpants and socks.

"The body appeared to be in full rigor mortis when a deputy sheriff arrived at the scene between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Two strings of white cord were tied around the ankles, and there were dark blue fibers sticking to some blood on the body. There were marks on the wrists indicating that they had been tied together. A search of the area revealed no clothing or anything else that could be associated with the victim.

"Dr. Luibel, who performed the autopsy, was unable to determine the cause of death because of the absence of the head. (The head and hands have never been found.) He could, however, rule out natural causes. There were three long superficial incisions on the abdomen that appeared to have been inflicted after death. There was a horizontal stab wound on the abdomen that had probably been inflicted before death, but it did not penetrate the stomach or intestines. The right hand appeared to have been sawed off and the left one cut off with a knife. The head was probably removed by using both a knife and saw. Dr. Luibel could not say whether the victim was alive or dead when her head was cut off. The small amount of hemorrhage at the wrists suggested the victim was probably dead when her hands were cut off. The body was still in full rigor mortis at 4 p.m. on May 31, 1979, when Dr. Luibel examined it. Death would have occurred about 16 hours before then--about midnight the night before.

"Terry Buchanan, the victim's husband, testified that his wife had given birth to a baby boy three weeks before her death and that she was still nursing him on May 30, 1979. That day Mrs. Buchanan left the house about 6:30 p.m. to go to a math class at Mesa College from 7 to 10 p.m. She was wearing tan levis, a beige and brown T-shirt, and was carrying a brown simulated leather purse. Mrs. Buchanan drove the family's only vehicle--a new blue van. There was very little gas in the tank because Buchanan planned to have the tank replaced the next day. Since Buchanan used the van during the day for his dental supply sales work, the van contained dental equipment and supplies. Buchanan said his wife was very security conscious and customarily locked the van. He also said that everything in the van was in good condition when she left.

"Mrs. Buchanan was last seen alive walking toward the parking lot from her math class about 9:30 p.m. Fellow students had given her copies of class notes for the classes she had missed because of the birth of her baby. Mrs. Buchanan had left class a little early because an optional quiz was given at 9:30 p.m "At 1:52 a.m. (California time) on May 31, 1979, defendant called his girlfriend, Donna Hatch, in Terrell, Texas from his parents' home in San Diego. He told Donna that he had a van and was planning to leave for Texas as soon as the gas stations opened in the morning.

"There was a gasoline shortage at the time, and gas stations were only open for limited hours. Between 4:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. on May 31, 1979, defendant used Terry and Eleanore Buchanan's Visa card to buy gas in El Cajon, California. The card was used two more times that day to buy gas for the van--once in El Centro, California at a station that was open between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., and once in Tucson, Arizona.

"When defendant arrived at Donna Hatch's home in Terrell, Texas on the evening of June 1, 1979, the van was dirty, had a broken arm on the driver's chair, a broken mirror, and a broken wing window on the passenger side. Defendant took Donna with him on errands in the van on June 1, 2 and 3, 1979. Donna saw some credit cards in the name of Terry and Eleanore Buchanan in the compartment between the seats. Defendant used the credit cards to buy gas and food while Donna was with him.

"On June 3, while Donna was in the van with defendant and her daughter, they saw a highway patrolman. When Donna turned back to talk to her daughter, defendant told her not to make any sudden moves because they could get shot. Later, defendant stopped at a pay phone to call his brother and his friend Clifford. Donna heard defendant tell his brother he had flown to Texas. Clifford testified that when defendant called him, he was watching a report on TV that the body of a white woman with her head and hands cut off had been found; he told defendant about it. Defendant seemed nervous when he returned from talking to Clifford. He told Donna that he thought he had killed a man, but he did not want to tell her any details because she might not want to have anything to do with him if he told her. Defendant said he would let the van sit a while to see if anybody paid attention to it. He also said he needed some Texas license plates. He asked Donna to go with him to a car lot, but she refused.

"Donna broke up with defendant the next day. Defendant said that if Donna were upset about the fact that he had lied about his ex-wife being dead, he would kill his ex-wife. On June 6, defendant called Donna to discuss bringing her back to California to testify for him in a pending case. At one point, a friend of Donna's got on the phone. Defendant told Donna, 'I'm going to kill you and your friend, too. And you won't know when I'll be around because I don't have to be driving this van, I can be in another vehicle.' Donna never saw or talked to defendant after that phone call.

"Defendant continued using the Buchanans' credit cards to buy gas, food and other items. It was stipulated that on June 6 defendant charged a saw, screwdriver and set of wrenches at a local store, and on June 7, he bought a butcher knife and two shanks of twine at a variety store.

"While driving the van in Oklahoma on June 8, 1979, defendant was stopped by a deputy sheriff. The deputy ran a check of the van's VIN number and learned that it belonged to the homicide victim. Defendant was arrested and taken to jail. On the way to the jail he passed a poster offering a reward for David L. Wall, alias 'Spider.'

"On June 9, 1979, San Diego sheriff's deputies interviewed defendant in Oklahoma. They began by introducing themselves, saying that they had...