California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Johnson, 197 Cal.Rptr.3d 461, 364 P.3d 359, 62 Cal.4th 600 (Cal. 2016):
guilt or penalty phase.... [T]he aggravating circumstance must meet two requirements. First, the circumstance may not apply to every defendant convicted of a murder; it must apply only to a subclass of defendants convicted of murder. [Citation.] Second, the aggravating circumstance may not be unconstitutionally vague." (Tuilaepa v. California (1994) 512 U.S. 967, 972, 114 S.Ct. 2630, 129 L.Ed.2d 750.) The
[62 Cal.4th 635]
lying-in-wait special circumstance is an " aggravating circumstance[ ]" subject to these constitutional requirements. (people v. bacigalupo (1993) 6 cal.4th 457, 467468, 24 cal.rptr.2d 808, 862 P.2d 808.)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.