State v. Valencia

589 P.2d 434, 121 Ariz. 191, 1979 Ariz. LEXIS 204
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 3, 1979
Docket3989
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 589 P.2d 434 (State v. Valencia) 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. Valencia, 589 P.2d 434, 121 Ariz. 191, 1979 Ariz. LEXIS 204 (Ark. 1979).

Opinion

CAMERON, Chief Justice.

Defendant Frank James Valencia was adjudged guilty of first degree murder, A.R.S. § 13-452, following trial to a jury in the *193 Superior Court of Pima County. He was sentenced to death. A.R.S. § 13-453. He appeals from the verdict, judgment, and sentence.

We must answer the following questions on appeal:

1. Should the trial judge have disqualified himself from hearing the matter?
2. Was it error not to suppress two confessions made by the defendant?
3. Was it error for the trial court to have allowed oral testimony describing certain articles of clothing after the clothing had been suppressed?
4. Was it error for the trial judge to have refused to give a requested instruction on second degree murder?
5. Does the lack of jury participation in sentencing amount to a violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution?
6. Is A.R.S. § 13-454(F) constitutionally infirm for failure to denote age as a possible mitigating factor?

The facts necessary for a resolution of this appeal are as follows. At approximately 5:45 p. m. on 2 December 1975, Karen Louise Tweedy left her place of employment in the Transamerica Building in Tucson, Arizona. She went to the El Presidio Garage where her car was parked. Upon reaching her car, she opened the door and placed her purse on the passenger seat when she was tapped on the shoulder from behind by the defendant. As Karen Tweedy turned and saw the defendant, she apparently made a motion with her arm to push the defendant away or to in some way protect herself. The defendant then shot Karen Tweedy, a .22 caliber bullet hitting her just to the left of the bridge of her nose. She never regained consciousness and died five days later.

Immediately after the shooting, the defendant ran up the stairs, then apparently decided to return to the scene of the shooting. After seeing the victim who appeared dead, he again ran up the stairs and exited the garage on the ground floor through a door in the northeast corner of the garage.

There were two witnesses whose testimony placed defendant at the parking garage at the time of the shooting. One female witness rode in the same elevator with the defendant as she went to get her car in the garage. A second witness saw the defendant burst out of the stairway door when defendant left the garage following the shooting.

Some three months later, on the 11th of March 1976, the defendant, who at that time was being held at the Pima County Juvenile Court Center, volunteered a statement to the police that he had information concerning the Tweedy murder. Detective Hector Marmion of the Tucson Police Department took the statement wherein the defendant stated that the murder was committed by one Tony Llama.

The next day the defendant voluntarily went with Detective Marmion and another officer in an effort to locate the alleged Tony Llama and others he had implicated in the crime. Five days later, on the morning of 17 March 1976, Detective Marmion and Sgt. Bunting picked up the defendant from the Pima County Juvenile Court Center and took him to the police department for the purpose of giving him a polygraph examination to test the credibility of his “Tony Llama” statement.

En route to the police station, the defendant told Detective Marmion in Spanish that it would not be necessary to go through with the polygraph test, that he, Valencia, had killed Karen Tweedy in the course of an attempted robbery. At the time of the murder, Valencia was 16 years old and at the time of his confession and arrest he was 17 years old.

Defendant’s fingerprints were subsequently taken, and the expert testimony at trial indicated a positive match between defendant’s prints and the prints removed from the stairway rail of the parking garage by police technicians the night of the murder.

Following trial to a jury, a verdict and judgment of guilt and a sentence of death, defendant appeals.

*194 SHOULD THE JUDGE HAVE DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF?

Defendant initially argues that the trial judge should have disqualified himself from trying the case because the trial judge knew the deceased when she worked for the court administrator’s office and that the judge agreed to perform the ceremony when the deceased was to be married. When asked by defense counsel, the trial judge stated his belief that he could try the case fairly and without prejudice and therefore denied defense counsel’s motion that he disqualify himself.

Defense counsel then made a motion to disqualify the trial judge for cause pursuant to Rule 10.1, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S. Section (c) of Rule 10.1 provides for a hearing by another judge when the impartiality of a judge is timely challenged. At the hearing conducted by Judge Druke, Judge Gin was examined extensively by defendant’s attorney. Judge Gin indicated that the deceased had worked for the Court Administrator’s office, that he saw her daily, and that she later left to work for a private attorney. Judge Gin testified:

“Q And did you talk with her about any other subjects that you can recall?
“A Well, on one occasion she indicated she was going with somebody and they might get married, and she asked me if I would be willing to perform the service, and I said that I would be very happy to.
“Q Did she tell you there was any particular reason she had asked you to perform the service as opposed to someone else?
“A No.
“Q Is it possible that it was — excuse me, not is it possible, but did she indicate to you whether or not you were her favorite judge, or you were the only judge that she—
“A Well, I would hope I was, but I don’t know, she never did indicate.
“Q You don’t know of her asking any other judge to perform the ceremony?
“A No.
“Q And how long ago was it that she requested you to perform this ceremony?
“A It must have been about three or four months before her death.
“Q That would have placed it approximately September or October of 1975?
“A I don’t even know the date of death so I can’t—
“Q All right. Assuming that the date of death is December 7, 1975, would it have been approximately in the month of September or so?
“A Well, it could very well be if it works out that way.
“Q All right.

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Bluebook (online)
589 P.2d 434, 121 Ariz. 191, 1979 Ariz. LEXIS 204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-valencia-ariz-1979.