On Thursday, the Supreme Court reversed the death penalty and some convictions in People v. Lamb based on retroactively applied 2021 legislation — Assembly Bill No. 333 — that narrowed criminal liability for gang-related activities. Lamb was convicted of murdering a fellow member of a white supremacist gang in 2002. The court left intact convictions for first degree murder, attempted murder of a police officer, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Kelli Evans overturned convictions for street terrorism and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm in public by an active participant in a criminal street gang, and also the true findings on gang enhancements and the gang-murder special circumstance supporting the death sentence, all of which the court says might be retried. The court concluded, “although there was an abundance of gang evidence presented to the jury, and each predicate offense had a gang enhancement under a [pre-AB 333] version of [the law], the record does not sufficiently disclose the circumstances surrounding the predicate offenses or how any specific predicate offense actually benefited the gang.”
As is the norm, the defendant made lots of unsuccessful arguments. One argument — that the superior court erred in allowing the jury to see a TV news report about the defendant’s and victim’s gang, including an interview of the victim — the Supreme Court found to raise a “close” question, but rejected it because the superior court had not abused its “broad discretion” and because admission of the evidence was harmless even if erroneous. The court also found to be a “close question” a claim the prosecutor committed misconduct by referencing his own experience. And it deemed unavailing the contention that some expert testimony was improper under People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665 (see here).
Related:
Supreme Court explains how to prove a gang enhancement
Application of legislation limiting what is a gang crime doesn’t violate state constitution
