People v. Jackson, S110206.

• Citation: 45 Cal. 4th 662,88 Cal.Rptr.3d 558,199 P.3d 1098
• Decision Date: 05 February 2009
• Docket Number: No. S110206.,S110206.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (California)
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Michael Anthony JACKSON, Defendant and Appellant.

199 P.3d 1098

88 Cal.Rptr.3d 558

45 Cal. 4th 662

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Michael Anthony JACKSON, Defendant and Appellant.

No. S110206.

Supreme Court of California.

February 5, 2009.

Michael J. Hersek, State Public Defender, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Jay Colangelo, Assistant State Public Defender, Mark Hammond and Craig Buckser, Deputy State Public Defenders, for Defendant and Appellant.

Bill Lockyer and Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorneys General, Donald E. de Nicola, Deputy State Solicitor General, Mary Jo Graves, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Assistant Attorney General, and Sharlene A. Honnaka, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

MORENO, J.

In 1984, defendant Michael Anthony Jackson was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering a police officer who was engaged in the performance of his duties. This court affirmed the judgment in People v. Jackson (1989) 49 Cal.3d 1170, 264 Cal.Rptr. 852, 783 P.2d 211, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals set aside the penalty verdict and death sentence, finding defendant had received ineffective assistance of counsel. (Jackson v. Calderon (9th Cir.2000) 211 F.3d 1148.) Following a penalty phase retrial, a judgment of death again was imposed on September 20, 2002. This appeal is automatic. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 11; Pen.Code, § 1239, subd. (b).) As explained below, we affirm the judgment.

I. FACTS

A. Prosecution Evidence

Shortly after noon on August 31, 1983, West Covina Police Officer Ken Wrede radioed that he had been told by a citizen of an intoxicated person in the area and would "be checking." A few minutes later, Edward Butler,¹ who was working in the area, noticed defendant walking toward the corner of Glenview Road and Francisquito Avenue. Defendant was walking "kinda crooked." Officer Wrede arrived, made a U-turn, and pulled to the curb at an angle. He radioed that defendant was "possibly dusted," meaning under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP), and requested backup. Officer Wrede got out of the vehicle, asked defendant where he was going, and told defendant to sit down on the curb.² Defendant began to walk away and the officer used his walkie-talkie to again request backup.³ The officer again told defendant to sit down on the curb, but defendant continued walking. The officer approached defendant "and kind of tapped him in the back of the knees with the billy club." Defendant "turned around and he started fighting."⁴

Defendant and the officer fell to the ground and began "tussling" and fighting. Defendant was punching and kicking the officer. Officer Wrede tried to defend himself and struck defendant in the midsection with his baton several times, to no effect. Officer Wrede sprayed mace in defendant's face several times, with no apparent effect. Defendant pulled a wooden tree stake out of the ground, uprooting the tree it was supporting, and swung the stake at the officer, who blocked it with his baton, causing the stake to fly into the street. During the altercation, defendant ripped the officer's badge from his uniform and broke his sunglasses.

Officer Wrede ran to the driver's side door of the police vehicle and defendant ran to the opposite side of the vehicle, opened the passenger side door and grabbed a shotgun that was secured in a rack. Officer Wrede broadcast, "he's got my shotgun rack," and then pushed defendant and they struggled over the shotgun until defendant ripped the shotgun and the rack from the vehicle.⁵ Officer Wrede broadcast, "he pulled it out," and then pointed his handgun at defendant over the roof of the vehicle. The shotgun was kept in the rack at "patrol ready," meaning there were four rounds of ammunition in the magazine and the safety was on. To fire the shotgun, the safety must be off and a round must be moved from the magazine to the firing chamber by sliding the pump action. Defendant attempted to load a round into the shotgun by sliding the pump. He pointed the weapon at the victim and appeared to pull the trigger, but the shotgun did not fire. Defendant again tried to load the weapon, which was still in the rack. This time, defendant was able to move the slide and Dunham heard the sound of a load entering the firing chamber of the shotgun. Officer Wrede crouched down behind the vehicle, still pointing his gun at defendant. Defendant then laid the shotgun on the roof of the vehicle and placed his hands on the roof of the vehicle, appearing to give up. Officer Wrede pointed his gun up, above defendant, and started to walk around the vehicle when defendant picked up the shotgun and shot the officer in the head.

Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff Stephen Vine was told by a passing motorist that a fight was occurring and arrived at the scene just after Officer Wrede was shot. Deputy Vine pulled his vehicle next to Officer Wrede's vehicle and saw Officer Wrede's body on the ground. As Deputy Vine left his vehicle, defendant stood up from behind Officer Wrede's vehicle and pointed the shotgun at Deputy Vine. Deputy Vine ducked back into his vehicle, backed away from defendant a couple of hundred feet, and jumped back out of the vehicle with his gun drawn. Defendant was walking toward the deputy, pointing the shotgun at him. Defendant appeared to be trying to both pull the trigger and move the slide to load a round into the shotgun.

West Covina Police Officer Arthur Marinello and his police dog came up behind defendant. Deputy Vine yelled for Officer Marinello to shoot defendant or release his dog. Defendant responded by repeating "I'll shoot you" and "I will kill all you fucking pigs," as he continued to point the shotgun at the deputy while both pulling at the trigger and trying to load a round into the chamber. Officer Marinello released his dog. Defendant struck the dog with the butt of the shotgun, stunning the animal, but the dog recovered and bit defendant, causing him to fall to the ground and drop the shotgun. West Covina Police Officer Christopher Mohler, who had arrived on the scene on his motorcycle just after Deputy Vine, ran into the street, kicked the shotgun to the side and grabbed defendant's arm as Officer Marinello grabbed defendant's other arm. Defendant struggled and tried to grab Officer Marinello's gun and Officer Mohler's gun. Deputy Vine approached and struck defendant in the stomach with his baton three or four times, subduing defendant enough to permit the other officers to handcuff defendant.

Deputy Sheriff Sabino Muniz arrived at the West Covina Police Station shortly after defendant was arrested and accompanied defendant as paramedics transported him to a hospital for treatment. The parties stipulated that a blood sample taken from defendant shortly after the crime revealed the presence of PCP. At the hospital, defendant answered the deputy's preliminary questions, stating his name, age, birthday, address and other information without difficulty or apparent confusion. A couple of hours later, after defendant had been treated, defendant asked Deputy Muniz: "Why am I under arrest? Am I being charged for killing a cop?" To Deputy Muniz's knowledge, no one had mentioned in defendant's presence that a police officer had been killed.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Detective Sergeant Michael Lee, a homicide investigator, later questioned defendant in his hospital room in the jail ward. He advised defendant of his rights, which defendant waived. Defendant was responsive and appeared to understand. Defendant asked Sergeant Lee what he was being arrested for, and Sergeant Lee answered, "murder." Defendant asked, "I killed a policeman?" The next day, Sergeant Lee and his partner returned and asked defendant if he remembered them. Defendant replied, "Yeah, you're the cops that said I shot that officer with a shotgun." To Sergeant Lee's knowledge, no one had told defendant that Officer Wrede had been killed with a shotgun. Sergeant Lee asked defendant how he knew Officer Wrede had been killed with a shotgun. Defendant replied he had read it in the newspaper, but newspapers were not available in the jail ward and defendant's wrists were secured to the sides of his bed.

George T. testified that seven years earlier on June 18, 1976, when he was 17 years old and in the Army, defendant and another man entered his barracks at 11 p.m. and climbed into his bunk. Defendant's accomplice struck the witness in the face and defendant sodomized him, causing his rectum to bleed.

Raul Curiel testified that on April 16, 1969, when he was 18 years old, he was walking with a friend in West Covina when they were summoned by defendant, who was 15 years old, and an accomplice. Defendant's accomplice poked a knife in Curiel's stomach and demanded money. Curiel responded that he had no money, turning his pockets inside out and throwing to the ground his wallet and a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) application for a driver's license. Defendant then took the knife and demanded Curiel's cigarettes. Curiel handed defendant his cigarettes and defendant poked him in the stomach with the knife. Defendant then returned the pack of cigarettes and he and his accomplice ran off. Curiel encountered a police officer and reported that he had been robbed. Defendant and another man were arrested a short time later and Curiel's wallet and DMV application were recovered. Two knives were recovered from defendant.

George Dorta testified that on July 5, 1983 he was a West Covina police officer and conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle that was weaving. The vehicle stopped in a gas station with a minimarket and Officer Dorta approached the driver and asked for his driver's license. Defendant, who was a passenger in the vehicle said "you don't have to do that" and got out of the vehicle and walked toward the officer with clenched fists. The driver also left the vehicle and began walking toward the officer, who retreated behind the pumps, drew his gun and ordered them to...