Can a defendant seek the death penalty on a retrial of a case where a jury found that a special circumstance allegation was not true?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Catlin, 109 Cal.Rptr.2d 31, 26 Cal.4th 81, 26 P.3d 357 (Cal. 2001):
Defendant relies upon Bullington v. Missouri (1981) 451 U.S. 430, 101 S.Ct. 1852, 68 L.Ed.2d 270 in support of his claim that once a special circumstance allegation is found not true, it may not be retried.
The court in Bullington determined on double jeopardy grounds that the prosecution could not seek the death penalty on retrial of a case in which the jury originally had imposed a life sentence. Under Missouri law, the prosecution was required to prove certain facts beyond a reasonable doubt at the penalty hearing, and the jury's penalty determination had "the hallmarks of the trial on guilt or innocence." (Bullington v. Missouri, supra, 451 U.S. at p. 439, 101 S.Ct. 1852.) Accordingly, the defendant could not be subject to retrial as to penalty after the trial court granted
[26 Cal.4th 65]
his motion for new trial on the basis of guilt phase error.[26 Cal.4th 65]
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