State v. Isiah Patterson

283 P.3d 1, 230 Ariz. 270, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 4, 2012 WL 3288757, 2012 Ariz. LEXIS 169
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 14, 2012
DocketCR-09-0342-AP
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 283 P.3d 1 (State v. Isiah Patterson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Isiah Patterson, 283 P.3d 1, 230 Ariz. 270, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 4, 2012 WL 3288757, 2012 Ariz. LEXIS 169 (Ark. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BRUTINEL, Justice.

¶ 1 In 2009, a jury found Isiah Patterson guilty of the first degree murder of Consque-lo Barker, and he was sentenced to death. We have jurisdiction over this automatic appeal under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. § 13-4031 (2010). 1

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2 At approximately 1:30 a.m. on March 17, 2006, Patterson and Consquelo, his girlfriend, were in his Mesa apartment with their three-year-old son when they began *273 fighting. 2 A downstairs neighbor heard loud crashes and things rolling on the floor. After about ten minutes, the noises stopped. After another ten minutes or so had passed, Consquelo ran from the apartment, naked and screaming for help.

¶ 3 Patterson chased Consquelo through the outdoor common areas of the apartment complex. He caught her at a sand volleyball pit, sat over her, and stabbed her thirteen times in the face, torso, and arm. The wounds perforated her lungs, diaphragm and spleen, and fractured her arm. Patterson continued stabbing Consquelo until a neighbor, awakened by her screams, yelled for him to stop. Consquelo then stumbled from the volleyball pit, asking for help before collapsing beneath a bush, where she died. Patterson walked back toward his apartment, telling neighbors, “That’s what happens when you try to turn a whore into a housewife.”

¶ 4 Patterson was arrested and indicted for Consquelo’s murder. The State sought the death penalty. Finding Patterson guilty and that the crime was especially cruel, see A.R.S. § 13-751(F)(6), the jury determined he should be sentenced to death.

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL

A. Voir Dire Questioning

¶ 5 Patterson contends the trial court restricted his questioning of prospective jurors contrary to Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 119 L.Ed.2d 492 (1992). Morgan held that due process requires a trial court to allow inquiry into whether a potential juror would automatically impose the death penalty. Id. at 733, 112 S.Ct. 2222. 3 Patterson challenges the trial court’s refusal to let him question potential jurors about specific aggravating and mitigating factors and its requirement that he mention the mitigation phase of the trial in a hypothetical question he asked jurors. We review a trial court’s ruling on voir dire for an abuse of discretion. See State v. Glassel, 211 Ariz. 33, 45 ¶ 36, 116 P.3d 1193, 1205 (2005). Patterson is not entitled to relief on these claims.

1. Specific Aggravator and Mitigator Questions

¶ 6 Before trial, the State moved to preclude Patterson from asking prospective jurors what factors they would find aggravating or mitigating. Patterson did not oppose the motion. Accordingly, we review this issue only for fundamental error. See State v. Henderson, 210 Ariz. 561, 567 ¶ 19, 115 P.3d 601, 607 (2005).

¶ 7 During voir dire, Patterson asked one juror what kind of circumstances she would find mitigating. The court sustained the State’s objection.

¶ 8 The trial court did not err by granting the State’s motion or sustaining its objection. Defendants are not entitled to “ask potential jurors what types of evidence they will consider to be mitigating.” Glassel, 211 Ariz. at 47 ¶ 44, 116 P.3d at 1207; see also State v. Johnson, 212 Ariz. 425, 434 ¶ 31, 133 P.3d 735, 744 (2006) (noting that “[e]xtant authority unanimously rejects” the argument that a defendant is entitled to voir dire jury panel about specific mitigating factors). Similarly, neither the state nor the defense is entitled to ask jurors about specific aggravators. See State v. Smith, 215 Ariz. 221, 231 ¶ 42, 159 P.3d 531, 541 (2007).

¶ 9 This restriction did not prevent Patterson from sufficiently investigating the beliefs of potential jurors. Although precluding him from questioning on specific aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the trial judge allowed Patterson to probe jurors “on their basic beliefs, views, biases and prejudices concerning the death penalty, as well as their general views concerning aggravating and mitigating circumstances that must be *274 considered in determining whether to impose a sentence of life or death.” As the trial court suggested, a defendant may legitimately ask what mitigation means to that juror. He could also ask whether the juror can imagine a situation where the totality of a defendant’s character, including things he has endured or accomplished, could warrant mercy despite his crimes. See, e.g., State v. Velazquez, 216 Ariz. 300, 307 ¶ 20, 166 P.3d 91, 98 (2007); Glassel, 211 Ariz. at 46 ¶ 41, 116 P.3d at 1206 (allowing defendant to ask potential jurors what “sufficiently substantial to call for leniency” meant to them). And the record here shows that Patterson did, in fact, ask these types of questions.

2. Hypothetical Question

¶ 10 The trial court also did not abuse its discretion by requiring Patterson to mention mitigation in a hypothetical question he asked. During the first voir dire session, Patterson’s counsel asked four jurors whether they thought death is an appropriate sentence if the jury finds a defendant guilty of premeditated first degree murder and also finds at least one aggravator. They agreed that it is. The trial court interjected to clarify that a fair and impartial juror is one who, even after finding guilt and aggravation, would be able to begin the sentencing phase without leaning toward or against the death penalty.

¶ 11 When questioning concluded, Patterson moved to strike three of the jurors who had been questioned before the trial court’s clarification. 4 The State objected, arguing that Patterson’s counsel had intentionally “bait[edj” them into suggesting they would not consider mitigation. It then requested that, prospectively, if counsel used this hypothetical, she be required to mention mitigation. The trial court agreed.

¶ 12 On appeal, Patterson notes that defendants are entitled to impartial juries, but he has not explained how the trial court erred in its ruling. Error does not result from the court’s correctly instructing prospective jurors on the law. See State v. Kreutzer,

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Bluebook (online)
283 P.3d 1, 230 Ariz. 270, 641 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 4, 2012 WL 3288757, 2012 Ariz. LEXIS 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-isiah-patterson-ariz-2012.