The People v. Davis CA1/2

I. INTRODUCTION

A jury found John Davis guilty of murder (Pen. Code, § 1871) and also found true special circumstance allegations that the murder was committed in the course of rape and burglary (§§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(C) & (G)). Davis was sentenced to life in prison without parole. On appeal, Davis contends the judgment must be reversed and a new trial ordered because: (1) the jury conducted an unauthorized experiment; (2) the trial court excluded scientific material relevant to the prosecution’s DNA evidence; (3) the jury was told that Davis exercised his Miranda2 rights during a police interview; (4) the prosecutor misled the jury during closing argument; and (5) Davis was denied his constitutional right to confront witnesses against him.

1 Statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Miranda v. Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436 (Miranda).

1 In a decision filed September 14, 2010, this court found that juror misconduct and multiple violations of Davis’s constitutional right to confrontation required us to reverse the judgment and remand this case for a new trial. Thereafter, the People filed a petition for review and, on December 21, 2010, the…