People v. Nunez

After a jury trial, two defendants (Defendants) were convicted of the first degree murders of two people. The jury found true special circumstance allegations of multiple murder and sentence enhancement allegations that Defendants committed the murders to benefit a criminal street gang and used firearms to commit them. The trial court sentenced Defendants to death. The Supreme Court vacated one multiple-murder special-circumstance finding for each defendant and the true findings for the street gang and fire use enhancements, holding (1) the trial court erred in instructing the jury pertaining to the gang enhancement allegations, and the error was prejudicial; (2) the sentence enhancement allegations for personal firearm use must also be vacated because those findings depended on the jury first finding true the gang enhancement allegations; and (3) the trial court erred in allowing the jury to make multiple-murder special-circumstance findings as to each count of murder. View "People v. Nunez" on Justia Law