People v. Maciel
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant, an alleged member of the Mexican Mafia, was convicted of the first degree murders of three adults and two children. The jury also found true multiple-murder special-circumstance and weapon use sentence enhancement allegations. Defendant was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in its rulings and decisions prior to trial; (2) the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant's convictions and the multiple-murder special-circumstance true finding; (3) the trial court did not err in the remainder of its rulings during the guilt phase of Defendant's trial; (4) the trial court did not engage in judicial misconduct during either the guilt phase or the penalty phase; (5) the prosecutor did not commit prejudicial misconduct during closing argument; (6) the trial court did not err in the remainder of its rulings during the penalty phase; and (7) California's death penalty statute is not constitutionally invalid.
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