In re Boyette

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Facts of the Crimes The facts surrounding petitioner‟s crimes, set forth in more detail in our opinion on appeal (People v. Boyette, supra, 29 Cal.4th at pp. 403-407), are not relevant to the analysis of the juror misconduct claims raised in the habeas corpus petition and contained in the order to show cause. Suffice it to say the evidence showed that petitioner acted as a bodyguard for a drug dealer in Oakland named Antoine Johnson; Johnson learned the two victims, Carter and Devallier, had allegedly stolen rock cocaine and cash from a safe house Johnson maintained; and petitioner accompanied Johnson to the house, confronted the victims and, in the ensuing melee, shot and killed both victims at pointblank range.

B. The Habeas Corpus Petition Petitioner filed a lengthy petition for writ of habeas corpus raising numerous issues. We found the petition stated a prima facie case for relief as to six claims, all of which related to various aspects of alleged misconduct by jury

2 The Department of Corrections is now called the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (See Gov. Code, § 12838, subd. (a); In re Large (2007) 41 Cal.4th 538, 544, fn. 4.)

2…

In 1993, an Alameda County jury convicted petitioner Maurice Boyette of two counts of first degree murder for shooting and killing Gary Carter and Annette Devallier. (Pen. Code, § 187.) 1 The jury also convicted petitioner of being a felon in possession of a firearm (former § 12021) and sustained allegations that he was both armed with (§ 12022, subd. (a)) and used (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)) a firearm during the crimes. The jury also sustained a multiple-murder special-circumstance allegation (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3)), rendering him eligible for the death penalty. Following the penalty phase of trial, the jury sentenced petitioner to death. This court affirmed his conviction and sentence in 2002. (People v. Boyette (2002) 29 Cal.4th 381 [ 127 Cal.Rptr.2d 544 , 58 P.3d 391 ].)

While his appeal was pending, petitioner also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in this court. Having found the petition stated a prima facie case for relief on several claims of alleged juror misconduct, this court issued an order on November 15, 2006, instructing the Director of the Department of Corrections 2 to show cause why relief should not be granted. We thereafter appointed a referee to…

The movie American Me 1 stars Edward James Olmos as a young man who is incarcerated and joins a prison gang, which he leads in a violent struggle over drug turf. It is a raw, violent depiction of the American prison system, with multiple scenes of stabbing and sexual assault.

It is this movie that two undecided jurors watched during a break in deliberations, at the urging of the jury foreman and other jurors voting for the death penalty. There is no dispute that these two jurors committed misconduct by actively seeking out information not presented at trial. There is no dispute that the jury did not reach a verdict after a full day of deliberations. The next day, after these two jurors watched the film, the jury deliberated for only 30 minutes before returning a death verdict. In light of this chronology, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the presumption of prejudice arising from the jurors’ misconduct has been rebutted. The record as a whole demonstrates a substantial likelihood these two jurors were actually biased in that they were influenced to impose the death penalty based on external information they intentionally acquired in violation of their oath.

The…