Leo v. Superior Court

179 Cal. App. 3d 274, 225 Cal. Rptr. 15, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1395
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 27, 1986
DocketB017718
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 179 Cal. App. 3d 274 (Leo v. Superior Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leo v. Superior Court, 179 Cal. App. 3d 274, 225 Cal. Rptr. 15, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1395 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Opinion

ARABIAN, J.

Introduction

This case presents a question of first impression. Petitioner Jack Oscar Leo, who is charged with a capital offense, seeks a writ of mandate directing respondent superior court to vacate its ruling allowing the People, the real party in interest, to revise its initial decision not to seek the death penalty and to instead pursue the death penalty against petitioner. 1 The People having shown cause before this court why such writ should not issue, the alternative writ is discharged and the peremptory writ is denied.

Facts

On August 7, 1984, following a preliminary hearing, an information was filed in respondent court charging petitioner with the robberies of Robert J. *278 Mallory, Laura J. Mallory, and Kathy Rhea (Pen. Code, § 211) and the murder of Robert J. Mallory (Pen. Code, § 187) on February 27, 1984, at the Plaza West Pharmacy. 2 It was further alleged that in the commission of the murder, petitioner had personally used a firearm, to wit, a sawed-off shotgun, within the meaning of Penal Code sections 12022.5 and 1203.06, subdivision (a)(1); and that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery within the meaning of Penal Code section 190.2, subdivision (a)(17).

It was also alleged, in an amendment to the information, that petitioner was convicted of three serious felonies in California, to wit, burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 667, subd. (a)), on January 20, 1976; burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 667, subd. (a)), on February 17, 1975; armed robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 667, subd. (a), 1203.06, subd. (a)(2)), on April 23, 1981; and was convicted of seven felonies in Pennsylvania (the equivalent California statutes are noted), to wit, three counts of possession and sale of narcotics (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11350, 11352) on December 15, 1971; possession of narcotics and conspiracy (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, Pen. Code, § 182), on December 15, 1971; burglary, larceny and receiving stolen property (Pen. Code, §§ 459, 487, 496), on December 15, 1971; possession of narcotics and possession of dangerous drugs (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350), on January 26, 1971; assault with intent to kill and aggravated assault and battery (Pen. Code, §§ 664/187, 245, 1203, subd. (e)(4)), on April 28, 1970.

Two-and-one-half months after the information was filed, by letter dated October 22, 1984, Mr. Curt Livesay, the special circumstances designee 3 for the district attorney, notified petitioner’s counsel that the district attorney had decided the death penalty was not warranted in petitioner’s case. Accordingly, Mr. Livesay invited petitioner, with consent of his counsel, to waive the penalty trial in the event petitioner should be found guilty of first degree murder and any special circumstances alleged in the information be found true. The letter explained that, since the death penalty would not be sought by the district attorney, it was “not necessary for a penalty trial to be held at which evidence pertaining to aggravation, mitigation and sentence would be introduced.”

*279 Enclosed with Mr. Livesay’s letter was a “waiver and agreement” form. Petitioner and his counsel executed the form, acknowledging, inter alia, the murder and special circumstances charges, waiving any right to which petitioner was entitled to a trial by court or jury as to whether petitioner would be punished by death or life imprisonment without possibility of parole, and agreeing that, should petitioner be found guilty of first degree murder and any charged special circumstances be found true, respondent court, if the court accepted the agreement, would sentence petitioner without a penalty trial being held.

Mr. Curt Livesay, who signed the October 22, 1984, letter, was the person assigned to make the decision whether to seek the death penalty in the last 800 to 825 cases in which such decision was required.

In this decisionmaking process, guidelines issued by the district attorney, and contained in a legal policies manual, are utilized. In accordance with these guidelines, when Mr. Livesay makes the decision whether to pursue the death penalty, he is in possession of a special circumstance/penalty evaluation memorandum (evaluation memorandum), initiated by the head deputy district attorney. In this evaluation memorandum, the case is analyzed and a recommendation regarding the appropriate sentence is made. The evaluation memorandum is prepared after the preliminary hearing, when a defendant has been held to answer on a charge of murder with special circumstances.

Initial evaluation memorandum of September 21, 1984.

Mr. Livesay is not required to accept the head deputy’s recommendation in the evaluation memorandum. In fact, in this case, Mr. Livesay initially did not follow the recommendation of the head deputy, Michael Genelin. In his September 21, 1984, evaluation memorandum to Mr. Livesay, Mr. Genelin had recommended the death penalty as the appropriate punishment for petitioner, describing the circumstances of the murder as follows:

“On February 27, 1984, . . . [t]wo suspects entered [Plaza West Pharmacy] at approximately 3:50 p.m. [Petitioner] with a sawed-off shotgun entered through the west door and [Dawn Elyne Ayres] with a small handgun entered through the south door. The persons working at the store at the time were the deceased Robert Mallory, his daughter Laura Mallory, Kathy Rhea, Barbara Sivadge and Vicky Lynn Briggs. [Petitioner] stated, ‘This is a robbery, put the drugs in the bags.’ He thereupon threw bags on the floor behind the pharmacy. Victim Laura Mallory picked up one of the bags and complied with [petitioner’s] demands. . . . [Petitioner] thereupon entered the office stating, ‘Where’s the rest of the money,’ and took the money from *280 bank deposit bags which were in the office. He then ordered victim Laura Mallory to open the change drawer and get the change for him, which she did. Additional drugs were also taken. [Ayres] ordered Kathy Rhea to the front register and forced her to open the register and place the money from that register into a bag. . . . The victims Kathy Rhea, Vicky Briggs and Barbara Sivadge were then ordered to the restroom. Victim Robert Mallory attempted to answer a phone that was ringing, but the receiver was slammed down by [Ayres] who pointed her weapon at his legs and pulled the trigger. The weapon made a clicking sound, but did not fire. [Ayres] thereupon stated ‘The next one’s for real.’ When Robert Mallory did not move as ordered towards the restroom, she fired a shot which traveled through his inside pant leg.
“[Petitioner] then ordered victim Robert Mallory to the restroom threatening to kill the victim Robert Mallory if he did not so move. [Petitioner] stated, T have already got one murder on my head, and I don’t want to make it two. Get out of my sight and go to the bathroom.’ The deceased Robert Mallory walked back to the area of the bathroom and out of the sight of his daughter Laura Mallory. Ms. Mallory was then ordered by [Petitioner] to continue placing drugs into the bags.

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Bluebook (online)
179 Cal. App. 3d 274, 225 Cal. Rptr. 15, 1986 Cal. App. LEXIS 1395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leo-v-superior-court-calctapp-1986.