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A loss out of California

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

I’ll leave it to Shaun Martin to analyze People v. Alphonso Howard: I think that you can figure out how this case comes out based solely upon two facts: (1) the fact that it’s in front of the California Supreme Court; and (2) the fact that the first sentence of the opinion begins: “Defendant Alphonso Howard was sentenced to death after a jury convicted him of first degree murder, rape, and a forcible lewd act upon a child under the age of 14.” Yes. Affirmed. P.S. - There’s an interesting debate between the majority and Justice Kennard (joined by Justice Moreno) about how you address Batson/Wheeler claims (impermissible peremptory challenges)when the defendant hasn’t made a prima facie showing but the prosecution nonetheless offers a purported justification for the challenges...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on February 05, 2008 (boomark / email).