People v. Cunningham
Annotate this CaseAfter a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of the first degree murders of three victims. A jury was sworn for the penalty phase and returned a verdict of death. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death for the three first degree murders with special circumstances. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in its entirety, holding (1) there was no abuse of discretion in the use of physical restraints during Defendant’s transit through the hallways of the courthouse; (2) the trial court did not violate Defendant’s rights to due process and a fair trial when it excluded him from numerous pretrial proceedings and the guilt phase of his trial; (3) Defendant’s waiver of a guilt phase jury was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary; (4) Defense counsel provided effective assistance; (5) the trial court did not err in its evidentiary rulings; (6) there was no prejudicial error committed during jury selection; (7) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant’s automatic application for modification of the death verdict; (8) Defendant’s sentence was not disproportionate; and (9) Defendant’s challenges to the constitutionality of California’s death penalty scheme failed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.