Stanford Law School - Robert Crown Law Library

Filed 8/19/04 (this opn. should follow P. v. Coffman & Marlow, S011960, also filed 8/19/04)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
S026614
v.
JAMES GREGORY MARLOW,
Orange
County
Defendant and Appellant.
Super. Ct. No. C-65640

Defendant James Gregory Marlow pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary
and to the murder, kidnapping, robbery and rape of Lynell Murray. (Pen. Code,
§§ 459, 187, 207, 211, 263.)1 Defendant admitted special circumstance
allegations that the murder had been committed during the course of robbery,
burglary and rape, and that he was armed with a firearm in the commission of the
offenses; following his waiver of a jury trial, in a separate proceeding the trial
court found he had suffered two prior serious felony convictions. (§§ 190.3, subd.
(a)(17)(i), (ii), (iii), (vii), 12022, subd. (a), 12022.5, 667, subd. (a).) The jury
returned a verdict of death. The superior court denied defendant’s application to
modify the verdict (§ 190.4, subd. (e)) and sentenced him accordingly. This
appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

1
Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise
specified.
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We affirm the judgment in its entirety.
I. FACTS
A. Guilt Phase
Because defendant pleaded guilty to all charges and admitted all special
circumstance allegations at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case-in-chief, and
now raises no claims of error relating to the guilt phase evidence, we need only
summarize briefly the evidence of his guilt.
On November 12, 1986, Lynell Murray was working at Prime Cleaners in
Huntington Beach in Orange County. Murray, a college student, had planned to
meet her boyfriend, Robert Whitecotton, after she finished work at 6:30 p.m. At
6:00 p.m., a customer saw defendant and Cynthia Coffman, embracing
passionately, in an alley behind Prime Cleaners. When Murray failed to show up
for their date, Whitecotton went to Prime Cleaners and saw that the store was
closed and Murray was gone, although her car remained in the parking lot. At
8:30 that evening, Mooshang Movafaghi, the proprietor, discovered the store had
been ransacked and the day’s receipts, along with the cash that should have been
in the register for the start of the next day’s business, and some clothing were
missing.
That same evening, Coffman, using Murray’s credit card, checked into
room 307 at the Huntington Beach Inn, signing the register in Murray’s name. A
few minutes later, a balance inquiry and a withdrawal of $80 were made on
Murray’s checking account at a Versateller at the Corona del Mar branch of the
Bank of America. One minute later, an additional $60 was withdrawn, leaving a
balance of less than $10. The next day, November 13, a hotel employee found
Murray’s body in the bathroom of room 307. She had been beaten and strangled
with a strip of towel; her head, bound with towels, was submerged in shallow
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water in the bathtub. Postmortem examination revealed sperm in her vaginal area;
her maroon bra, pantyhose and one earring were missing.
Later, Coffman checked into the Compri Hotel in the City of Ontario, again
using Murray’s credit card. Around midnight on November 13, in a nearby
Denny’s restaurant, a waiter serving Coffman and Marlow saw them kissing and
cuddling.
Defendant and Coffman were arrested the following day as they walked
along a road in the Big Bear area in San Bernardino County, where law
enforcement officials had learned a man and a woman were attempting to use
Murray’s credit card to purchase clothing in two different sporting goods stores.
In Coffman’s purse were identification cards belonging to Lynell Murray, credit
card receipts bearing Murray’s forged signature, an earring matching the lone
earring found in Murray’s ear when her body was discovered, a loaded revolver
and ammunition, and a brown bag with money taken from Prime Cleaners. A
search of a room defendant and Coffman had rented at the Bavarian Lodge in the
Big Bear area yielded clothing stolen from Prime Cleaners, including a gray suit
jacket defendant had been seen wearing.
After defendant’s and Coffman’s arrest, police found a white Honda
belonging to Corinna Novis, a resident of Redlands in San Bernardino County
who had been missing since November 7. The car was parked off a highway near
Santa’s Village, an amusement park in San Bernardino County. In a trash can on
the park premises, a maintenance worker found a pillowcase containing the bra
and pantyhose worn by Lynell Murray on November 12, personal checks made
payable to Prime Cleaners, laundry receipts from the same establishment, and a
matchbook from the Compri Hotel. Defendant’s fingerprints and palm prints were
found on the Honda.
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On November 15, the body of Corinna Novis was found buried in a shallow
grave in a vineyard in San Bernardino County. The cause of death was ligature
strangulation; sperm was found in her rectum. The prosecution presented
evidence that defendant and Coffman had abducted Novis from a shopping center
in Redlands on November 7 and taken her to the home of Richard Drinkhouse,
where they held her in a bedroom and tried to obtain her personal identification
number (PIN) in order to access her bank account. After defendant’s sister,
Veronica Koppers, arrived at the Drinkhouse residence, Drinkhouse overheard
Marlow tell her of his plan to go to Novis’s apartment to see if he could find
anything there. Marlow apparently then took Novis into the shower; later, with
wet hair and wearing only trousers, he entered the living room and told
Drinkhouse he had gotten the PIN. Soon thereafter, defendant and Coffman took
Novis, her wrists in handcuffs and duct tape over her mouth, from the residence.
The following evening, November 8, defendant and Coffman visited the home of
Paul Koppers, Veronica’s husband. Defendant told Koppers he had acquired a car
and needed to get license plates that were not easily traceable. On November 11,
the manager of a Taco Bell restaurant in Laguna Beach recovered various items,
including a checkbook and bank card in the name of Corinna Novis and
identification cards belonging to defendant and Coffman, from a bag near a trash
receptacle behind the restaurant.
B. Penalty Phase
1. Prosecution case
In addition to the evidence of the murders of Lynell Murray and Corinna
Novis presented during the guilt phase, the prosecution introduced further
evidence of defendant’s crimes against Corinna Novis, as well as other violent
criminal conduct and a 1978 conviction for escape in Kentucky.
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Regarding the offenses against Novis, the prosecution introduced
defendant’s testimony in his February 1989 capital trial in San Bernardino County,
in which he had admitted kidnapping and robbing Novis before strangling her.
The prosecution also introduced evidence that on approximately July 7,
1986, in Whitley County, Kentucky, defendant and Coffman murdered Gregory
Hill for financial gain. Hill’s body was found on Upper Mulberry Cemetery Road,
about a tenth of a mile from his residence. The cause of death was a single
gunshot wound to Hill’s lower right forehead, with powder stippling around the
entry wound. In his February 1989 trial in San Bernardino County, defendant
admitted he and Coffman had been paid a little more than $5,000 to kill Gregory
Hill. Marlow contended he had initially changed his mind about killing Hill and
that Coffman had indicated she would kill Hill by herself. Defendant ultimately
acknowledged, however, that—as they had planned—Coffman, feigning car
trouble, lured Hill to a truck parked on the roadway near his house, whereupon
defendant emerged from a nearby hiding place to demand to know what Hill was
doing with his sister. Hill drew a gun and pointed it at defendant; in the ensuing
struggle over the gun, Hill was shot.
The prosecution also presented evidence that defendant had committed
three robberies in 1979. In the first incident, early in the morning of November 5
of that year, defendant and a confederate, Allen Smallwood, came to the door of
Jeffrey Johnson’s apartment in the City of Upland and asked Johnson whether he
worked in construction. When Johnson answered in the affirmative, defendant hit
him in the face with a motorcycle chain and knocked him to the ground.
Defendant and Smallwood then entered the apartment and began to look for drugs.
Finding none, they took $180 from Johnson’s dresser, along with a kitchen knife
and a sword they found hanging on the wall. Defendant and Smallwood, taking
Johnson, then went downstairs and entered the apartment of sisters Lori and Kathy
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Liesch. Defendant and Smallwood ordered Lori to get out of bed. When she told
them she had no clothes on, defendant tried to pull the covers off her until
Smallwood told him to leave her alone. Defendant then began to search the
apartment and surprised Kathy Liesch as she was returning home. Defendant took
Kathy into the bedroom where he and Smallwood tied the two women and
Johnson up with electrical cord and warned them not to contact the police because
they had taken their identification and would “come after” them. When Lori
continued to cry after defendant demanded that she stop, he grabbed his crotch and
told her he would take her in the other room and “shut her up.” Smallwood urged
him to leave her alone.
In the second incident, on November 6, 1979, defendant entered a leather
goods store owned by Joanne Gilligan in the City of Upland. Gilligan was
assisting a customer when defendant went to the counter. When Gilligan asked if
she could help him, defendant replied that he had a gun pointed at her and she
should lie down on the floor. Although Gilligan did not actually see a gun,
defendant had his hand in the pocket of his sweatshirt, and it appeared he could
have a gun there. Both Gilligan and the customer got down on the floor;
defendant took money from the register, grabbed one or two coats and left.
In the third incident, on November 20, 1979, defendant and Smallwood
entered a methadone clinic in the City of Ontario. Defendant was armed with a
sawed-off shotgun, and Smallwood carried a pistol. After loading and racking the
shotgun, defendant ordered clinic employee Gertrude Smith not to move. He
pointed the shotgun at her as Smallwood went to another part of the clinic,
confronted a physician and a nurse, and demanded they open the safe where the
methadone was kept. At one point during the robbery, believing an alarm had
been activated, defendant shouted to Smallwood to “shoot him in the head,”
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referring to the physician. When the safe was at last opened, defendant and
Smallwood fled with $10,000 worth of methadone.
2. Defense case
Various witnesses testified to defendant’s family background and
upbringing. Defendant’s sister Veronica Koppers, who admitted a prior felony
conviction of being an accessory to the kidnapping of Corinna Novis, described
their mother Doris Hill’s open abuse of and addiction to drugs and alcohol and her
practice of bringing “hundreds” of different men to her house for sex. From 1965
until her death in a trailer fire in 1975, Doris had been frequently arrested and
confined for various offenses, serving a prison term that began in 1968. During
Doris’s incarcerations, defendant would be sent to foster homes. Doris also would
leave defendant and Veronica with friends or relatives for indefinite periods until,
“when it was convenient, [she] would come back.” Doris supported her drug habit
by stealing, sometimes asking her children to serve as lookouts. Once when
Veronica was 12, Doris brought her to a house in Los Angeles and told her to wait
while she went out and that she would be back. Instead, Doris went drinking and
Veronica was raped by a man who lived there. While Veronica perceived Doris’s
shortcomings as a mother, defendant idealized her and was devastated each time
she would leave them. When defendant was about 15, Veronica saw Doris inject
him with heroin.
Defendant’s half sister, Tina, the daughter of defendant’s father, Arnold
Marlow, testified that defendant came to stay with her family on two occasions.
Arnold Marlow was an alcoholic who frequently beat his children and, according
to Tina, had no interest in defendant. Sue Warman, Tina’s mother, testified by
videotape and confirmed Tina’s testimony concerning Arnold Marlow’s
abusiveness. She further testified that defendant, who was a quiet, withdrawn
child, appeared badly neglected when he first came to stay with her family. The
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second time defendant came to stay, he “wasn’t in . . . very good emotional health
at all.” Defendant protected Tina against her older brother Mike by “get[ting] very
violent,” to the point that Ms. Warman had to take Mike to the hospital for
stitches. When Ms. Warman and Arnold Marlow concluded that defendant needed
help, they contacted child welfare authorities, who placed him in a foster home.
Other witnesses corroborated Veronica’s account of Doris Hill’s neglect of
her children and her open drug use in the home. Ray Saldivar, a former drug
addict, testified that in 1965 he lived in Doris’s house along with other persons
who were openly using drugs and drinking. Doris paid so little attention to
defendant and Veronica that Saldivar did not realize there were children in the
house until he had lived there for some time. She was “kind of a rough person,”
who bought Saldivar a gun for his birthday. Defendant, who was quiet and
withdrawn, and his sister spent a lot of time in their bedroom. Lillian Zamorano
testified that she met Doris Hill in a bar in the Pico Rivera area in 1966. At that
time, Zamorano, who had five children, had never used drugs; Doris introduced
her to seconal and amphetamines, which she used along with heroin. Zamorano
moved in with Doris, and the two spent most of their time in bars and nightclubs,
bringing people to the house to drink and use drugs. During most of this period,
Doris’s children lived with her mother, Lena Walls; Doris visited infrequently and
Zamorano first learned of the children’s existence when, after living with Doris for
two years, Doris invited her to visit her mother. At one point, defendant and
Veronica stayed with Doris for about a month until Doris tired of their presence
and took them back to her mother. Doris allowed defendant, who was about 13
years old at the time, to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana in the home, reasoning
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it was better that he do so around her than in the street.2 Rosemary Casillas,
Zamorano’s daughter, confirmed her mother’s description of the chaotic
conditions prevailing in the household when they lived with Doris. One Christmas
day, as Zamorano and Doris prepared to go out drinking, defendant pleaded with
his mother to stay with him. She ignored him and left; he cried and threw the
radio she had given him to the floor, smashing it. Defendant, Veronica and
Casillas would go to various bars looking for their mothers. When located, the
women would tell the children to wait for them or walk back home; they would
not go with the children. Once, when Casillas was 13 or 14 and Doris was no
longer living with Zamorano, Casillas ran away from home to the place where
Doris was staying. She saw Doris inject defendant with heroin and Doris offered
some to Casillas. Doris injected Casillas with the drug; it made her ill.
Terry Sydnes testified that in 1971 he and his wife and children lived across
the street from the house where defendant, Veronica and their grandmother were
living. Doris told him the children were a mistake and she didn’t really want
them. Defendant spent quite a bit of time at the Sydneses’ house and eventually
moved in with them for about six months while they attempted to become his
foster parents through the juvenile probation department. Sydnes believed
defendant had become unruly because he was never loved and was looking for
attention. Sydnes and his wife believed defendant needed psychological
treatment, but they could not afford to provide it and the county refused to help
them. Sydnes concluded he could no longer care for defendant when his wife
discovered drugs in the house.

2
Zamorano later became involved in religion and abandoned the lifestyle she
had adopted when living with Doris.
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The defense also presented expert psychological testimony. Peter
Chambers, Ph.D., a clinical and forensic psychologist and a professor of pediatrics
at the University of California at Irvine, testified about the psychological aspects
of early development, specifically the child’s development of attachment to the
parents and the effects of abuse during the first years of life. Dr. Chambers, who
had neither interviewed defendant nor read any materials associated with the case,
opined that the impact on the emotional development of a child growing up in a
household where he observes large-scale drug abuse and his mother engaging in
promiscuous sexual activity would be severe. Dr. Chambers concluded that abuse
and neglect similar to that suffered by defendant as a child and an adolescent could
produce a borderline personality disorder with elements of psychotic, neurotic and
psychophrenetic3 neurotic behavior.
Clinical psychologist Michael Kania, Ph.D., spent about 70 hours
interviewing defendant and reviewed documentary material generated by law
enforcement, along with reports by persons who had known defendant when he
was growing up. Dr. Kania testified defendant tended to minimize the
mistreatment he had endured, compared with the accounts offered by his friends
and relatives. Defendant’s natural father, Arnold Marlow, had a drinking problem
and was inordinately strict with him; his mother’s second husband was “even more
pathological and even more severe.” Defendant had been so desperate to gain his
mother’s affection and attention that he would do anything she asked or that he
thought would please her, and he never stopped hoping she would come back and
act towards him as a mother should. His mother had introduced defendant to
marijuana at age eight and to heroin at age 11, had sexual intercourse with

3
Dr. Chambers defined this term to mean “angry and mad.”
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numerous men in his presence, and encouraged him to steal from them. She
became sexually involved with defendant, taking showers with him at age 12 to
13, and although defendant was reluctant to talk about it in any great detail, there
was some indication he had engaged in sexual relations with his mother at her
urging.
Dr. Kania characterized the level of emotional abuse and mistreatment
defendant had suffered during his childhood as “extremely severe and perhaps the
most severe of anyone” in the thousands of evaluations he had completed.
As an adult, defendant tended to develop relationships with women like his
mother. They used drugs and often were sexually promiscuous, living the same
sort of unstable life he had been exposed to as a child. From 1980 to 1983,
defendant was incarcerated in prison for his robbery convictions. From the time of
his release until he met Coffman, he had no arrests, successfully completed parole
and held jobs. He married a woman named Kathy Duitsman; the marriage ended
when she shot another woman in a bar after Kathy and defendant had a
misunderstanding.
Soon after, he met Coffman, with whom he fell in love because she
immediately reminded him of his mother. He was willing to do anything to make
her happy. After the killing in Kentucky, Coffman threatened to call the police if
defendant did not do her bidding. As a result, defendant felt trapped. Coffman
wanted to acquire funds to get her son back from her former in-laws, and the
Orange County and San Bernardino County homicides were the product of
Coffman’s desire for money and defendant’s attempt, by doing what she wanted,
to please her and avoid abandonment. Dr. Kania opined that the crimes would not
have happened had defendant not met Coffman. After Murray’s murder,
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defendant—tired of the situation—essentially gave up, purposefully discarding
evidence in a way likely to lead the police to Coffman and himself.4
II. ANALYSIS
A. Failure to Prosecute Orange County and San Bernardino County
Homicides in Single Proceeding
Defendant asserts the prosecutors in his Orange County and San Bernardino
County cases each proceeded on the theory that the two murders had formed part
of a single course of conduct, namely a “unified plan” devised by Marlow and
Coffman to obtain money to finance a trip to Arizona. Thus, defendant contends,
his trials in separate proceedings on the Orange County and San Bernardino
County murder charges violated section 954, the prohibition against being twice
placed in jeopardy for the same offense, and his right to due process of law. He
further contends his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to seek
consolidation of the offenses in a single proceeding. These errors, he asserts,
violated his rights under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
federal Constitution and article I, section 15 of the state Constitution.
Defendant forfeited this claim of error by failing to object to the separate
prosecutions or to move for joinder below. (Cf. People v. Maury (2003) 30
Cal.4th 342, 392 [failure to move for severance forfeits claim of error].) Were we
to address it on the merits, we would reject defendant’s contention.

4
In a separate trial, Coffman was convicted of Murray’s murder with special
circumstances and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
The Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, Division Three, affirmed that
judgment, and this court denied review.

Defendant and Coffman were jointly tried in San Bernardino County for
Novis’s murder, with special circumstances; each was sentenced to death. This
court affirmed that judgment. (People v. Marlow and Coffman (Aug. 19, 2004,
S011960) __ Cal.4th ___.)
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Section 954 provides in pertinent part: “An accusatory pleading may
charge two or more different offenses connected together in their commission, . . .
or two or more different offenses of the same class of crimes or offenses, under
separate counts, and if two or more accusatory pleadings are filed in such cases in
the same court, the court may order them to be consolidated.” The statute thus
permits but does not require joinder under some circumstances. Section 654
provides that when an “act or omission . . . is punishable in different ways by
different provisions of law,” an “acquittal or conviction and sentence under any
one bars a prosecution for the same act or omission under any other.”5 Defendant
relies on Kellett v. Superior Court (1966) 63 Cal.2d 822, in which this court,
interpreting section 654, stated: “[S]ome acts that are divisible for the purpose of
punishment must be regarded as being too interrelated to permit their being
prosecuted successively. . . . When . . . the prosecution is or should be aware of
more than one offense in which the same act or course of conduct plays a
significant part, all such offenses must be prosecuted in a single proceeding unless
joinder is prohibited or severance permitted for good cause. Failure to unite all
such offenses will result in a bar to subsequent prosecution of any offenses
omitted if the initial proceedings culminate in either acquittal or conviction and
sentence.” (Kellett, supra, at p. 827.) Contrary to defendant’s argument, Kellett is
not controlling. As we noted in People v. Carpenter (1999) 21 Cal.4th 1016,
1038, “the murder of separate victims on separate days in separate counties is not
a single act or even a ‘course of conduct’ [citation] requiring a single prosecution.”
Examining section 790, governing venue in murder prosecutions, Carpenter

5
The version of section 654 that was operative at the time of defendant’s
offenses and trials was substantially similar to the current version, quoted in the
text.
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concluded that no authority compels murders committed in different counties to be
tried together. (Carpenter, supra, at p. 1039.)
Defendant therefore was not denied due process or the constitutional
protection against double jeopardy by successive prosecutions for the San
Bernardino County and Orange County offenses. Accordingly, defendant’s trial
counsel did not render ineffective assistance in failing to object on this basis
because to omit making a nonmeritorious objection does not amount to deficient
performance. (See Strickland v. Washington (1984) 466 U.S. 668, 687-688; In re
Avena (1996) 12 Cal.4th 694, 721 [claim of ineffective assistance requires a
showing that counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of
reasonableness under prevailing professional norms and that a reasonable
probability exists that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the outcome of the
proceeding would have been different].)
B. Alleged Faretta Error
Throughout the proceedings in San Bernardino County and initially in the
present case, defendant was represented by Attorney Ray Craig. In February
1990, however, a few months after defendant’s sentencing in the San Bernardino
County case and before any motions had been heard in this case, the superior court
granted defendant’s Marsden motion (see People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118)
and relieved Craig and his associate, William Byhawer. The superior court then
appointed Attorney C. Thomas McDonald, but McDonald withdrew from
representing defendant because he could not come to an agreement with the
county regarding his fees. The superior court then appointed Attorney Ron
Brower, but on April 6, 1990, defendant wrote a letter to the court, objecting to
Brower as his attorney. At the next hearing, on April 25, 1990, Brower informed
the court that based on allegations in defendant’s letter, he could not represent
defendant; the court then relieved him.
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After discussing somewhat the procedure for obtaining replacement counsel
for Marlow, the court said: “Mr. Marlow, we haven’t asked you. You are without
an attorney right now, but I will assume by relieving Mr. Brower that’s your
desire, is that correct?” Defendant replied: “Yes, it is. Sir, may I address the
court?” The court answered: “Surely.” Defendant continued: “Mr. Brower, as I
understand, wasn’t on the court list.” Defendant explained he wished to pick
another attorney who was not on the court list and whom he could trust and work
with. The court spoke further of the process for appointing counsel and invited
defendant to continue. Defendant talked about the trusting relationship he had had
with McDonald. The court elaborated on its understanding of the fee-related
reasons why McDonald had withdrawn from representing defendant and on the
county’s procedures for appointing counsel, noting: “As far as you looking at the
list and selecting someone off the list and so forth, I don’t think that’s proper. It
hasn’t been done before, and I don’t think we can make an exception. [¶] All the
gentlemen on the list and so forth have been screened and are outstanding
attorneys. In other words, [if] you had five million dollars to go out and select an
attorney, you’d end up selecting one of the attorneys on the list, I am sure. That’s
neither here nor there. [¶] The only thing I can tell you is we will go through the
procedures and select the next attorney.” Further discussion ensued on the
appointment process and a motion filed by Marlow in propria persona, the denial
of which he had been trying to appeal. As to the latter, the court stated it would
take the matter off calendar so that the attorney eventually appointed to represent
defendant could determine whether to pursue writ relief. The court and counsel
then turned to trial setting, and the court indicated it would direct Mike Horan, an
attorney who was on the court list for appointed counsel in capital cases and who
happened to be present in the courtroom, to “fill in and sit with Mr. Marlow, take
the necessary waivers, see where we are going.” The court further indicated it
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anticipated putting the matter over for a couple of weeks to allow defendant’s new
attorney time to familiarize himself with the case.
After an interruption in the proceedings, defendant spoke up: “Your honor,
excuse me. Is it possible that I just go pro per in my own defense and have
someone appointed as co-counsel?” The court answered: “No. That’s an absolute
disaster. There’s no authority for that. That doesn’t work out. There’s no
authority—some judges have done that, much to my chagrin. I am trying to think
[of] the case I ended up with that happening.” The prosecutor said: “It is possible
in an unusual case, however.” The court stated: “I will decline to do that at this
particular time.”
After another interruption in the proceedings, defendant again spoke:
“Seems to be—your honor, excuse me. I be allowed to have one lawyer, only
allowed a certain amount of time to do the trial, a certain amount of manpower and
hours while the district attorney and the public defender’s office have unlimited
resources and manpower on a salary type of thing. It seems kind of unfair.”
After still another interruption, the court stated it would be necessary to
allow a couple of weeks to obtain counsel from the court’s list of attorneys and to
allow that attorney to determine whether appropriate arrangements could be
reached. The court then proceeded to call Attorney Horan to discuss with
defendant the need to waive time in order to obtain new counsel. Horan asked
defendant: “That make sense to you?” Defendant answered: “Yeah, it makes
sense to me, but I think I am going to have the same problem whatever attorney is
appointed to me isn’t allowed the proper time for a death penalty defense and the
manpower and resources like my opposition has.” After further colloquy, Horan
asked defendant: “You willing to do that, willing to waive time?” Defendant
said: “Yes, sir.” The matter accordingly was put over for two weeks.
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Defendant contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for self-
representation under Faretta v. California (1975) 422 U.S. 806. As defendant
asserts, we have held that if a defendant in a criminal case wishes to represent
himself or herself and makes an unequivocal assertion of that right within a
reasonable time prior to the commencement of trial, the request must be granted.
(People v. Marshall (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1, 20-21; People v. Windham (1977) 19
Cal.3d 121, 127-128.) Respondent contends this contention was forfeited by
defendant’s plea of guilty on the advice of subsequently appointed counsel.
Although not relying on the absence of a certificate of probable cause (see
§§ 1237.5, 1239, subd. (b); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 30(b)), respondent argues the
claim of erroneous denial of a Faretta motion is not one going to the “legality of
the proceedings” and thus is not cognizable on appeal. (§ 1237.5; People v. Hobbs
(1994) 7 Cal.4th 948, 955.) We disagree. Just as a claim of denial of the right to
counsel is cognizable on appeal after a guilty plea (People v. Holland (1978) 23
Cal.3d 77, 85), so too is a claim of Faretta error (People v. Robinson (1997) 56
Cal.App.4th 363, 370).
We conclude, however, that defendant did not make an unequivocal request
for self-representation. Reading the pertinent exchange in the context of
defendant’s frustration with his inability to obtain the counsel of his choice, we
find it clear that defendant’s inquiry—“Is it possible that I just go pro per in my
own defense and have someone appointed as co-counsel?”—was a request for
information, not a Faretta motion. That the trial court went on to “decline to do
that at this particular time” did not convert defendant’s inquiry into a motion.6

6
Because defendant did not make an unequivocal request for self-
representation, this case does not present the question we addressed in People v.
Dent (2003) 30 Cal.4th 213, where the defendant made an unequivocal, albeit

(footnote continued on next page)
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This conclusion is strengthened by consideration of the ensuing discussion, in the
course of which defendant, far from adverting to any desire for self-representation,
reiterated his concern that any counsel eventually appointed to represent him
would be disadvantaged by a limited fee arrangement rather than what he
evidently viewed as the unlimited budgets available to the prosecutor and to
defendants represented by the public defender.
C. Validity of Plea
Defendant contends his guilty plea to murder with special circumstances
must be set aside for lack of an express waiver of his rights to a jury trial and
against self-incrimination, as required by the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth
Amendments to the federal Constitution and article I, section 16 of the state
Constitution. “[A] valid guilty plea presuppose[s] a voluntary and intelligent
waiver of the defendant’s constitutional trial rights, which include the privilege
against self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury, and the right to confront one’s
accusers.” (People v. Howard (1992) 1 Cal.4th 1132, 1175.) The reviewing court
must determine whether the record affirmatively demonstrates that the plea was
voluntary and intelligent under the totality of the circumstances. (Id. at p. 1178.)
Here, during the proceedings on the change of plea at the conclusion of the
People’s guilt phase case-in-chief, the prosecutor advised defendant as follows:

(footnote continued from previous page)
conditional, request for self-representation that the trial court denied on the
erroneous basis that self-representation was unavailable in a capital case. (Id. at
pp. 217, 219.) Here, the trial court correctly told defendant, in essence, that a
defendant in a criminal case who elects self-representation is not entitled to the
appointment of cocounsel. In other words, as the court made clear, a defendant
does not have a right both to be represented by counsel and to participate in the
presentation of his own case; indeed, as the court indicated, such an arrangement
is generally undesirable. (People v. Clark (1992) 3 Cal.4th 41, 97.)
18

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“Now, when you plead guilty, you are going to be giving up certain rights. And
you have the right to be tried by a jury in a public and speedy trial. And so far in
the guilt phase of this case, you have actually had a trial up to this point by a jury
picked by your lawyers and yourself. [¶] When you plead guilty, you are giving
up the right to have that same jury decide whether or not you are guilty and you
are giving up that right to have the jury decide whether or not those special
circumstances are true. [¶] Do you understand that you are giving up that right
when you plead guilty?” Defendant responded: “Yes, sir.” The prosecutor
continued: “In the course of that trial, the trial we’ve had so far, you’ve had the
opportunity through your lawyers or yourself, if you want, to confront the
witnesses that are brought into the courtroom and to cross-examine those
witnesses. And that’s been done so far. [¶] When you plead guilty at this point,
you are giving up the right to confront and cross-examine any other witnesses that
the prosecution might want to bring in in the guilt phase. Do you understand
that?” Defendant answered: “Yes, sir.” The prosecutor inquired: “[Is that] what
you want to do?” Defendant responded: “Yes, sir.”
The prosecutor continued: “There is the right at a guilt phase of the trial to
testify in your own behalf if you want. You can get on the witness stand and
testify under oath, or you can sit in the courtroom with your lawyers and remain
silent and not say anything at all. When you plead guilty, in effect you are giving
up your right to remain silent because you are making a statement about these
crimes. Do you understand that?” Defendant answered: “Yes, sir.” The
prosecutor asked: “Is that what you want to do?” Defendant responded
affirmatively.
Defendant contends the record reflects merely that he was informed of his
rights and expressed a desire to give them up, not that he actually did so. In the
totality of the circumstances, however—in particular, defendant’s having been
19

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represented by counsel and having participated in the trial to that point pursuant to
his former plea of not guilty—we have no doubt his words signified actual waiver
of his rights preparatory to his change of plea.
Defendant further contends article I, section 16 of the state Constitution
requires express waiver of the jury right in this context. He acknowledges we held
in People v. Ernst (1994) 8 Cal.4th 441, 446, that that provision does not apply
when a defendant waives the right to trial by pleading guilty, but applies only
when a defendant exercises his right to trial but waives the right to a jury.
Defendant urges that “by creating a higher standard for the acceptance of a jury
trial waiver when the accused chooses a court trial, where all that is waived is not
the right to have the facts tried, but just the right to have a jury as the trier of fact,
than the standard for the acceptance of a jury trial waiver when a defendant pleads
guilty, thereby waiving his right to have any trier of fact adjudicate the charges, is
a denial of equal protection of the laws, guaranteed by the United States
Constitution.” He contends a defendant pleading guilty is situated similarly to a
defendant forgoing a jury and electing a court trial, and that the constitutional
provision differentially affecting the exercise of such fundamental rights can be
justified only by a compelling state interest. To the contrary, a case involving a
guilty plea, in which no issues are to be tried, is indeed different from one in
which issues remain for trial before the court. (See id. at p. 448.) We therefore
conclude article I, section 16 of the state Constitution, as we have interpreted it, is
consistent with federal equal protection principles.
20

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D. Admission of Defendant’s Testimony in San Bernardino County
Trial; Claimed Ineffective Assistance of Counsel in Failing to
Object
During the penalty phase of this case, pursuant to Evidence Code section
1291,7 the prosecution introduced excerpts of defendant’s testimony under cross-
examination in his San Bernardino County trial, in which he admitted he had
kidnapped and robbed Corinna Novis in order to obtain money to go to Arizona
and had strangled her, and described the circumstances of the killing for hire of
Gregory Hill in Kentucky. Defendant contends his conviction must be reversed
because it was the result of the improper denial, in the San Bernardino County
prosecution, of his motion to sever his trial from that of his codefendant, Coffman,
which denial in turn “impelled” his testimony in that case in order to rebut highly
prejudicial evidence that Coffman presented in her defense. Defendant observes
that his counsel in the San Bernardino County trial stated, in the course of an in
limine hearing held just prior to defendant’s testimony in that case, that
defendant’s decision to testify was necessitated by the accusations that Coffman
and her witnesses had made against him.
Respondent would have this court dismiss the present claim at the
threshold, arguing that the propriety of the San Bernardino Superior Court’s ruling
and the evidence presented in that trial stand outside the record on this appeal. We
may, however, take judicial notice of the proceedings and our decision in the San

7
Evidence Code section 1291 provides in relevant part that evidence of
former testimony (including testimony given under oath in another action; see id.,
§ 1290, subd. (a)) is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the declarant is
unavailable as a witness and the testimony is offered against the person who
offered it in evidence in his own behalf on the former occasion. (See also Evid.
Code, §§ 1220 [hearsay exception for party admissions], 1230 [hearsay exception
for declarations against penal interest].)
21

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Bernardino County case and hereby do so. (See Evid. Code, §§ 452, subds. (a),
(d), 459.)
Respondent further contends Marlow forfeited the issue by failing to object
to the admission of his former testimony. He is correct. (People v. Carter (2003)
30 Cal.4th 1166, 1204.) Because Marlow asserts his counsel thereby rendered
ineffective assistance, however, we turn to the merits of the claim.
While not asserting he was literally compelled to take the stand in the San
Bernardino County case, Marlow relies on state and federal authorities
recognizing that when a defendant was impelled to testify at a prior hearing or
trial, either because of the nature of the proceeding in which he testified or
because he was provoked into testifying by the improper introduction of evidence,
that testimony may not be used against him in a subsequent hearing or trial.
In the first category of decisions Marlow cites, pertaining to particular types
of proceedings, Simmons v. United States (1968) 390 U.S. 377, for example, held
that when a defendant testifies in a pretrial suppression hearing in order to assert
his Fourth Amendment right to be free from illegal search or seizure of evidence,
the prosecution may not introduce his testimony on the question of guilt. (Id. at
p. 394.) Simmons reasoned that a defendant should not have to surrender one
constitutional right in order to assert another. (Id. at pp. 393-394.) Similarly,
People v. Coleman (1975) 13 Cal.3d 867 held that the testimony of a probationer
at a revocation hearing is inadmissible in the prosecution’s case-in-chief in a
subsequent trial on charges based on the same conduct that prompted the
revocation. (Id. at p. 872.) We said: “When a pending or potential criminal
charge forms the basis of an alleged violation of a condition of probation, a
probationer who can explain his actions only by jeopardizing his chances of
acquittal at a subsequent criminal trial may understandably feel that his
opportunity to be heard is more illusory than real and that he is being deprived of
22

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his liberty without one of the essential elements of rudimentary fairness—a
meaningful chance to speak on his own behalf.” (Id. at p. 874.)
In the latter category, those in which a defendant’s testimony is impelled by
the improper introduction of evidence, Marlow cites Harrison v. United States
(1968) 392 U.S. 219, in which the high court reversed a conviction predicated on
the admission of a defendant’s former testimony, which the court concluded had
been impelled in the prior proceeding by the erroneous admission into evidence of
his three confessions later determined, on appeal, to be involuntary. (Id. at pp.
222-223.) The court stated: “[W]e need not and do not question the general
evidentiary rule that a defendant’s testimony at a former trial is admissible in
evidence against him in later proceedings. . . . [¶] Here, however, the [defendant]
testified only after the Government had illegally introduced into evidence three
confessions, all wrongfully obtained, and the same principle that prohibits the use
of confessions so procured also prohibits the use of any testimony impelled
thereby . . . .” (Id. at p. 222, fns. omitted.) Cited in Harrison (id. at p. 224, fn. 10)
is this court’s decision in People v. Spencer (1967) 66 Cal.2d 158, in which we
held that the erroneous introduction into evidence of an illegally obtained
confession that arguably induced the defendant to admit his guilt in open court
compelled reversal because “the record in th[e] case fail[ed] to dispel beyond a
reasonable doubt the possibility that the defendant took the stand in an attempt to
mitigate the explosive impact of a confession which had left his case in ruin.” (Id.
at p. 169; see also Fahy v. Connecticut (1963) 375 U.S. 85, 86-87 [reversing
conviction upon finding a reasonable possibility that the introduction of illegally
seized evidence prompted the defendant’s testimonial admissions].) More
recently, in People v. Louis (1986) 42 Cal.3d 969, we reversed a conviction after
the trial court improperly admitted the preliminary hearing testimony of a witness
who absconded before trial, when the prosecution had failed to use due diligence
23

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to secure the witness’s attendance at trial. Relying on Spencer, supra, at page 169,
we rejected the state’s contention that the defendant’s testimony sufficiently
supported the conviction, because the record failed to dispel the possibility that the
defendant’s testimony had been impelled by the erroneous introduction of the
witness’s prior testimony. (Louis, supra, at p. 995.)
These authorities do not compel reversal of defendant’s conviction in this
case because we have concluded in People v. Marlow and Coffman, supra, ___
Cal.4th ___, that the San Bernardino Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in
denying severance of Marlow’s trial from that of Coffman. Coffman’s evidence
regarding Marlow’s other bad acts, moreover, was not admitted against Marlow,
and the jury in that case was instructed to consider it only insofar as it bore on
Coffman’s state of mind at the time of the offenses. That Marlow made the
tactical decision to address Coffman’s assertions in his testimony in the San
Bernardino County case cannot be attributed to legal compulsion rendering that
testimony inadmissible in this proceeding. (Cf. Ohler v. United States (2000) 529
U.S. 753, 759-760.) His trial counsel, therefore, did not render ineffective
assistance in failing to object to its introduction into evidence. (See Strickland v.
Washington, supra, 466 U.S. at pp. 687-688; In re Avena, supra, 12 Cal.4th at p.
721.)
E. Exclusion of Mitigating Evidence
Defendant contends the trial court erred in excluding evidence that Lena
Walls, his grandmother and childhood caregiver, hated all men; in excluding
evidence of a neighbor’s description of Ms. Walls; and by preventing defendant’s
expert from testifying as to “the mitigating psychological factors associated with
strangulation as a method of homicide.” The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments
to the federal Constitution require that the sentencer in a capital case not be
precluded from considering as a mitigating factor any relevant aspect of the
24

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defendant’s character or record and any of the circumstances of the offense that
the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death. (McCleskey v.
Kemp (1987) 481 U.S. 279, 304; Skipper v. South Carolina (1986) 476 U.S. 1, 4.)
The trial court, however, retains discretion to exclude evidence on grounds of
irrelevancy. (People v. Frye (1998) 18 Cal.4th 894, 1015.)
We find no abuse of discretion in this case and, it follows, no constitutional
error. Testimony that Ms. Walls hated men would have evidenced her character
and state of mind, but—without more—would not have illuminated any
circumstances of defendant’s upbringing and character, because to assume her
attitudes toward men in general would have negatively affected her treatment of
her young grandson would be speculative. The jury, moreover, heard evidence
suggestive of a less than optimal—indeed, chaotic—upbringing, including that
Ms. Walls had been institutionalized in Kentucky and cared for defendant and his
sister on minimal income from government assistance. In a related vein, the trial
court’s exclusion, as speculative and lacking foundation, of a neighbor’s opinion
of Ms. Walls’s personality did not constitute an abuse of discretion and in any
event carried no prejudice in view of the other evidence of Ms. Walls’s limitations
as a caregiver.
Finally, on this record we see no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s
sustaining an objection, on grounds of speculation and lack of foundation, to
defense counsel’s questioning of defense psychologist Michael Kania concerning
whether, from a psychological point of view, strangling as a form of murder
differs from any other form. Moreover, even assuming an abuse of discretion in
the court’s ruling, the error was harmless in light of defendant’s admission that he
intended to kill Murray, and the weight of the aggravating evidence. Defendant,
moreover, was free to argue any “self-explanatory” inferences he wished, such as
that strangulation presupposes lack of planning or acting out of rage, from the
25

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method of killing he employed. We reject defendant’s related contention that the
prosecutor improperly exploited the court’s ruling with his closing argument that
defendant, in strangling Murray, used “the most personal way someone can kill”
and, in so doing, “crossed the line” “where we as a society say enough.” The
argument did no more than draw reasonable inferences from defendant’s method
of killing and urge a death verdict based thereon.
F. Alleged Caldwell Error
Defendant contends the prosecutor, in closing argument, violated the rule in
Caldwell v. Mississippi (1985) 472 U.S. 320, and the trial court subsequently erred
in refusing a defense-requested curative instruction. The combination of these
errors, defendant argues, deprived him of a reliable penalty determination as
guaranteed by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution.
The issue arose in the following context: During his summation, the prosecutor
argued to the jury: “We discussed during the jury selection about the unique
aspect of this kind of a case and that it is the only type of case in California where
the judge does not make the sentencing decision initially, the jury does.” Defense
counsel interjected: “Excuse me, your honor, I am going to object to the term
‘initially.’ It is the jury’s decision. It carries.” The prosecutor said: “I will
rephrase it.” The prosecutor went on to say: “It’s the only type of case where in
California the jury makes the decision what the appropriate penalty is to be.”
At the conclusion of argument, defense counsel asked the court to instruct
the jury that, in rendering its decision, each juror was to assume the penalty
selected would be carried out. The trial court declined, noting: “I think I covered
that so often in voir dire that death means death and life without parole means life
without parole. I think I hammered that during voir dire. I don’t think they would
ever pick up on initial determination. We’ve got to give the jury some credit for
26

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having some amount of common sense. I don’t think it’s necessary. I will deny
the request.”
Caldwell v. Mississippi held it “constitutionally impermissible to rest a
death sentence on a determination made by a sentencer who has been led to
believe that the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of the
defendant’s death rests elsewhere.” (Caldwell v. Mississippi, supra, 472 U.S. at
pp. 328-329.) Given the brevity of the prosecutor’s remark, the immediate
speaking objection from defense counsel, and the prosecutor’s equally prompt
rephrasing to eliminate any conceivably incorrect inference, we see no reasonable
likelihood the jury understood the remark as diminishing its responsibility for the
sentencing determination. (People v. Clair (1992) 2 Cal.4th 629, 663.)
Nor did the trial court err in refusing the requested curative instruction. In
People v. Thompson (1988) 45 Cal.3d 86, 130, we found the identical instruction
to be inaccurate, in that it ignored both the power of the superior court to reduce a
death sentence under section 190.4, subdivision (e), and the Governor’s power of
commutation. Defendant contends the rule in Thompson was effectively overruled
in Simmons v. South Carolina (1994) 512 U.S. 154, in which the high court ruled
that when the prosecution urges a capital jury to sentence a defendant to death
because of a potential for future dangerousness, due process dictates that the trial
court cannot prevent the jury from learning the defendant is ineligible for parole
under a sentence of “life imprisonment.” (Id. at p. 169.) But in People v.
Musselwhite (1998) 17 Cal.4th 1216, involving a refused instruction that a
sentence of life imprisonment without parole meant the defendant would never be
paroled, we distinguished Simmons v. South Carolina on the basis that the trial
court in Musselwhite did not prevent the jury from learning the defendant would
be ineligible for parole. (Musselwhite, supra, at p. 1271.) As the instructions
given in this case properly advised the jury of its sentencing responsibilities, the
27

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trial court was not obliged, sua sponte, to correct the defects in the requested
instruction.
G. Asserted Denial of Due Process and Fair Trial by Virtue of
Preceding Claims of Error
Defendant contends the asserted errors discussed in the preceding sections
constituted either direct violations of his federal constitutional rights or arbitrary
deprivations of his liberty interest created by state law, thus derivatively denying
him due process. (See Hicks v. Oklahoma (1980) 447 U.S. 343, 346.) We
conclude defendant has not demonstrated that any error infected his trial; thus, this
contention lacks merit.
H. Constitutionality of Death Penalty Law
Defendant challenges the constitutionality of the 1978 death penalty law on
the following grounds, all of which have been rejected in the cited cases: the
statute’s failure to require (1) written findings as to the aggravating factors the jury
employed (People v. Kraft (2000) 23 Cal.4th 978, 1078); (2) proof beyond a
reasonable doubt of any aggravating factors, that aggravating factors outweigh
mitigating, or that death is the appropriate punishment (ibid.); (3) jury unanimity
regarding aggravating factors (People v. Hillhouse (2002) 27 Cal.4th 469, 510;
(4) a procedure to enable a reviewing court to evaluate meaningfully the
sentencer’s decision (People v. Hines (1997) 15 Cal.4th 997, 1077); and (5) a
presumption that life without parole is the appropriate penalty (People v. Arias
(1996) 13 Cal.4th 92, 190). Defendant also complains that the statute invites
arbitrariness and capriciousness by failing to designate which sentencing factors
are aggravating and which are mitigating, by failing to require that the jury not
consider inapplicable mitigating circumstances, and by permitting allegations of
unadjudicated criminal activity to be used as a basis for imposing death; as he
acknowledges, we have rejected these contentions as well. (People v. Jones
28

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(2003) 30 Cal.4th 1084, 1128-1129; People v. Hughes (2002) 27 Cal.4th 287,
404.)
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
WERDEGAR, J.

WE CONCUR:
GEORGE, C. J.
KENNARD, J.
BAXTER, J.
CHIN, J.
BROWN, J.
MORENO, J.

29

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See next page for addresses and telephone numbers for counsel who argued in Supreme Court.

Name of Opinion People v. Marlow
__________________________________________________________________________________

Unpublished Opinion

Original Appeal XXX
Original Proceeding
Review Granted
Rehearing Granted

__________________________________________________________________________________

Opinion No.

S026614
Date Filed: August 19, 2004
__________________________________________________________________________________

Court:

Superior
County: Orange
Judge: Donald A. McCartin

__________________________________________________________________________________

Attorneys for Appellant:

Barry L. Morris, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Defendant and Appellant.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Attorneys for Respondent:

Daniel E. Lungren and Bill Lockyer, Attorneys General, George Williamson and Robert R. Anderson,
Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Gary W. Schons, Assistant Attorney General, Keith I. Motley, William
M. Wood and Pamela Ratner, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

30

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Counsel who argued in Supreme Court (not intended for publication with opinion):

Barry L. Morris
1260 B Street, Suite 220
Hayward, CA 95451
(510) 247-1100

Pamela Ratner
Deputy Attorney General
110 West A Street, Suite 1100
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 645-2273

31

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Opinion Information

Date:	Docket Number:
Thu, 08/19/2004	S026614

Disposition
Aug 19 2004	Opinion: Affirmed

Dockets
May 8 1992	Judgment of death
May 14 1992	Filed certified copy of Judgment of Death Rendered   5-8-92.
Feb 3 1993	Counsel appointment order filed   Barry L. Morris, Esq. Is Appt'd to represent Applt on His A.A., Including Any Related Habeas Proceedings.
Feb 3 1993	CAP CONFLICT EXISTS   CAP HAS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Mar 3 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Mar 5 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 5-3-93 To request Corr. of Record.
May 3 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
May 4 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 6-21-93 To request Corr. of Record.
Jun 24 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Jun 28 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 8-20-93 To request Corr. of Record.
Aug 24 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Aug 26 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 10-19-93 To request Corr. of Record.
Oct 20 1993	Compensation awarded counsel
Oct 26 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Oct 27 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 12-20-93 To request Corr. of Record.
Dec 28 1993	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Dec 29 1993	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 2-18-94 To request Corr. of Record.
Jan 20 1994	Compensation awarded counsel
Mar 1 1994	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
Mar 2 1994	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 5-3-94 To request correction of Record. no further Extensions of time Are Contemplated.
May 4 1994	Change of Address filed for:   Atty Barry L. Morris.
May 4 1994	Application for Extension of Time filed   By Applt to request correction of Record.
May 5 1994	Extension of Time application Granted   To Applt To 7-5-94 To request correction of Record. no further Extensions of time will be Granted.
Jul 5 1994	Received:
Jul 13 1994	Compensation awarded counsel
Mar 10 1995	Record on appeal filed   C-12 (4,184 Pp.) and R-38 (9,098 Pp.)
Mar 10 1995	Appellant's opening brief letter sent, due:   4-19-95.
Mar 15 1995	Compensation awarded counsel
Apr 24 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Apr 24 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 5-19-95 To file Aob.
May 25 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
May 26 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 6-23-95 To file Aob.
Jun 23 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Jun 27 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 7-24-95 To file Aob.
Jul 25 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Jul 26 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 8-23-95 To file Aob.
Aug 23 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Aug 24 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 9-22-95 To file Aob.
Sep 25 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Sep 26 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 10-23-95 To file Aob.
Nov 2 1995	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Nov 3 1995	Extension of Time application Granted   To 1-2-96 To file Aob.
Jan 2 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Aob.
Jan 3 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 2-1-96 To file Aob.
Jan 16 1996	Appellant's opening brief filed   (108 Pp.)
Jan 17 1996	Compensation awarded counsel
Feb 7 1996	Compensation awarded counsel
Feb 15 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Respondent's brief
Feb 16 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To March 15, 1996 To file Respondent's brief
Mar 15 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Resp's brief.
Mar 19 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 4-15-96 To file Resp's brief.
Apr 11 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Resp's brief.
Apr 23 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 5-15-96 To file Resp's brief.
May 13 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Resp's brief.
May 14 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 5-28-96 To file Resp's brief.
May 23 1996	Respondent's brief filed   (70 Pp.)
Jun 25 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file reply brief.
Jun 27 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 7-12-96 To file reply brief.
Jul 16 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file reply brief.
Jul 18 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 8-12-96 To file reply brief.
Aug 13 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file reply brief.
Aug 14 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 9-11-96 To file reply brief.
Sep 16 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file reply brief.
Sep 19 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 10-11-96 To file reply brief.
Oct 17 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file Applt's reply brief
Oct 22 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To November 11,1996 To file Applt's reply brief
Nov 13 1996	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file reply brief.
Nov 15 1996	Extension of Time application Granted   To 12-11-96 To file reply brief.
Dec 11 1996	Appellant's reply brief filed   (72 Pp.)
Dec 11 1996	Filed:   Applt's request to Take Judicial Notice (of Record & AOB in People V. Coffman & Marlow - S011960).
Dec 11 1996	Motion filed   By Applt to Postpone filing of reply brief as to issue No. Iii Until After Resp has filed its brief in People V. Coffman & Marlow, No. S011960.
Dec 16 1996	Compensation awarded counsel
Dec 23 1996	Compensation awarded counsel
Jan 2 1997	Opposition filed   By Resp to motion to Postpone/Delay filing reply brief on issue No. Iii & request for Judicial Notice (6 Pp.)
Jan 15 1997	Order filed:   The "motion to postpone filing of applt's reply brief as to issue no. III until after resp has filed its reply to AOB in People v. Cynthia Lynn Coffman and James Gregory Marlow, No. S011960," is granted. The final due date for the filing of applt's reply brief as to issue no. III shall be 30 days after the filing of his reply brief in no. S011960. The "request to take judicial notice of the record of the trial proceedings & AOB in People v. Cynthia Lynn Coffman and James Gregory Marlow, no. S011960, pursuant to Evidence Code Sections 459, 452," is granted.
Feb 10 1997	Motion filed   To Consolidate the Appeals and Habeas Petitions in Peo.V. ,Marlow (S026614) and Peo. V. Coffman and Marlow (So11960)
Feb 18 1997	Filed:   By Respondent Opposition to motion to Consolidate the Appeals and Habeas Petitions in Peo.V.Marlow (S026614) and Peo.V. Coffman & Marlow (S011960)
Feb 26 1997	Order filed:   The motion to consolidate, filed on February 10, 1997, is denied.
Aug 13 1997	Compensation awarded counsel
Nov 24 1997	Compensation awarded counsel
Nov 23 1998	Compensation awarded counsel
Apr 26 1999	Compensation awarded counsel
Apr 26 1999	Compensation awarded counsel
Aug 23 1999	Filed:   Applic of Atty Chuck Nacsin for appointment as Habeas Corpus Counsel.
Sep 7 1999	Filed:   Amended Appl. for Appt. of Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Counsel.
Sep 13 1999	Motion filed   By Atty Barry Morris to withdraw from representation as to Habeas Corpus.
Sep 21 1999	Filed:   Amended Proof of Service for motion to Withdraw.
Sep 27 1999	Filed:   Letter from Atty Morris, dated 9-17-99, Re: motion to Withdraw.
Oct 7 1999	Order filed:   Good Cause appearing, the Applic. of appointed Counsel for permission to withdraw as Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Atty of Record for Applt James Gregory Marlow, filed 9/13/99, Is Granted. the Order appointing Barry L. Morris as Counsel for Applt James Gregory Marlow, filed 2/3/93, Is Hereby Vacated with Respect to the Investigation And/or Initiation of Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Proceedings Related to Applt Marlow's Capital Appeal. Mr. Morris Shall Remain as Counsel of Record for Applt Marlow's Capital Appeal, and Shall Continue to be Responsible for all Applt Duties Specified in Supreme Court Policies Regard- Ing Cases Arising from Judgment of Death, Policy 3 Standards 1-1 and 2-1. Chuck Nacsin Is Hereby Appointed as Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Counsel in Place of Barry L. Morris on behalf of Applt James Gregory Marlow, and has Responsibility For all Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Duties Specified in Policy 3, Standards 1-1 and 2-1. Mr. Morris Is directed to Deliver to Mr. Nacsin, Within 30 Days from the filing of this Order, A copy of the Entire case file Relating to Marlow's Capital Appeal and Related Habeas Corpus Proceedings Currently in His Possession, Including But not Limited To, the Reporter's and Clerk's Transcripts, all case Files and Documents Obtained From Applt Marlow's Trial Counsel, all case Reports From Investigators, Legal Assistants and Paralegals, and copies of all other Documents Filed in this Court.
Nov 10 1999	Order filed:   In Conjunction with the Order filed on 10/7/99, Permitting Barry Morris to withdraw as Counsel of Record for Death Row Inmate James Gregory Marlow For Habeas Corpus/Executive Clemency Proceedings Related to the Automatic Appeal now Pending in this Court, Mr. Morris Is Ordered to Reimburse This Court the Sum of $28,000. This Order Is With- Out Prejudice to Morris's Ability to Seek -- Upon Adequate Demonstration -- Credit for Habeas Corpus Work Already Performed by Morris "that Is determined by the Court to be of Value to the Court." (Fixed fee Guideline 11 ["Court Action Upon Nonperformance of Work, and Reimbursement of Fees Upon Authorized Withdrawal of appointment Counsel"], Subpart B.)
Feb 16 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Morris
Mar 2 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Mar 29 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Mar 29 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
May 17 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Jun 29 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Aug 9 2000	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Oct 11 2000	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Oct 17 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Oct 17 2000	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Dec 12 2000	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Dec 13 2000	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file applt's reply brief on issue No. III (1st request)
Dec 21 2000	Extension of Time application Granted   To 1/8/2001 to file reply brief on Isuse No. III.
Jan 8 2001	Application for Extension of Time filed   To file applt's reply brief on issue No. III (2nd request)
Jan 10 2001	Extension of Time application Granted   To 2/7/2001 to file reply brief on issue no. III.
Jan 12 2001	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Jan 30 2001	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Feb 5 2001	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Feb 8 2001	Filed:   appellant's reply brief on issue III (29 pp.)
Apr 9 2001	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Jun 12 2001	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Aug 9 2001	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Oct 5 2001	Note:   related habeas corpus petition filed this date (case no. S101171).
Oct 16 2001	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Nov 30 2001	Counsel's status report received (confidential)   from atty Nacsin.
Dec 4 2001	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Jan 2 2002	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
Mar 4 2002	Filed:   Request to permit filing of supplemental brief. (13 pp. suppl. AOB submitted under separate cover)
Mar 7 2002	Order filed   Applt.'s request to permit filing of supplemental brief is granted.
Mar 7 2002	Filed:   Supplemental AOB. (13 pp.)
Mar 29 2002	Filed:   respondent's response to applt's supplemental brief. (20 pp.)
Apr 23 2002	Request for extension of time filed   To file suppl. reply brief. (1st request)
Apr 25 2002	Extension of time granted   To 5/20/2002 to file suppl. reply brief.
May 21 2002	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Jun 3 2002	Application for relief from default filed   to file applt.'s suppl. reply brief. (19 pp. suppl. reply brief submitted under separate cover)
Jun 5 2002	Order filed   Applt.'s application for relief from default to file applt.'s suppl. reply brief is granted.
Jun 5 2002	AA Supplemental Reply brief filed   by applt. (19 pp.)
Sep 19 2002	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin
May 29 2003	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
May 30 2003	Exhibits lodged   People's: 171, 172, 174-206; defendant's: P, Q, R, T, U, W, X, Z, BB and DD.
Feb 27 2004	Exhibit(s) lodged   People's no. 63.
Mar 17 2004	Oral argument letter sent   advising counsel that the case could be scheduled for oral argument as early as the May calendars, to be held in San Francisco the week of May 3 and also the week of May 24, 2004. Any request for additional time (to argue), notification of requirement for two counsel, or advisement of "focus issues" must be made no later than 10 days after the case has been set for oral argument.
Apr 13 2004	Received:   letter from atty Morris, dated 3-12-04, re: scheduling of oral argument, and requesting 45 minutes to argue.
Apr 26 2004	Order filed   The request of attorney Barry Morris for 45 minutes to argue on behalf of appellant is granted.
Apr 28 2004	Case ordered on calendar   5-24-04, 1:30 p.m., SF.
May 19 2004	Filed letter from:   Respondent, dated 5/18/2004, re focus issues for oral argument.
May 20 2004	Filed:   focus issue letter from appellant, dated 5-14-2004.
May 24 2004	Cause argued and submitted
Jun 7 2004	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Aug 19 2004	Opinion filed: Judgment affirmed in full   Majority Opinion by Werdegar, J., ----- Joined by George, CJ., Kennard, Baxter, Chin, Brown and Moreno, JJ.
Sep 22 2004	Remittitur issued (AA)
Sep 28 2004	Exhibit(s) returned   superior court.
Sep 29 2004	Received:   receipt for remittitur.
Oct 18 2004	Received:   acknowledgment of receipt of exhibits.
Jan 26 2005	Received:   Copy of appellant's cert petition. (35 pp. - excluding appendix)
Jan 31 2005	Received:   Letter from U.S.S.C., dated 1/27/2005, advising cert petition filed as No. 04-8368.
Feb 28 2005	Received:   respondent's brief in opposition to appellant's cert petition. (16 pp.)
Mar 28 2005	Certiorari denied by U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 27 2005	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Multhaup
Jun 13 2005	Compensation awarded counsel   Atty Nacsin

Briefs
Jan 16 1996	Appellant's opening brief filed
May 23 1996	Respondent's brief filed
Dec 11 1996	Appellant's reply brief filed

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