State of Arizona, Appellee v. Dale Shawn Hausner, Appellant

Summary

The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed Hausner’s convictions and death sentences for six murders and nearly all other offenses, but reversed one animal-cruelty conviction involving the horse Apache because the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Hausner was the shooter. The court upheld the emergency wiretap, joinder, challenged evidentiary rulings, aggravating-factor findings, waiver of mitigation, denial of counsel’s withdrawal motion, and enhanced noncapital sentences. It also held that the cold-and-calculated aggravator, though facially vague, was constitutionally narrowed by the trial court’s instructions.