State of Arizona, Appellee v. Mike Peter Gallardo, Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Gallardo’s convictions and death sentence, rejecting challenges to the mistrial, jury selection, the especially-cruel aggravator, victim-impact evidence, prosecutorial conduct, the sentencing burden of proof, and the proportionality of the death sentence. It held that the trial court acted within its discretion in declaring a mistrial after juror misconduct, properly rejected the Batson challenges, and gave an adequate limiting instruction for the cruelty aggravator. The court also concluded that sufficient evidence supported the aggravator and that any prosecutorial errors or limitations in the victim-impact instructions did not render the trial unfair.