The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Joseph Kekoa Manibusan, — Werdegar, J., Concurring in Part and Dissenting…

Summary

Justice Werdegar concurred in affirming the murder, attempted-murder, and death-penalty judgments but dissented from affirmance of the aggravated-mayhem conviction. She reasoned that the record showed an intent to kill but no substantial evidence that either the shooter or the defendant, as aider and abettor, specifically intended to inflict a permanently disabling or disfiguring injury. Justice Liu, concurring in part and dissenting in part, agreed that the aggravated-mayhem conviction lacked sufficient evidentiary support and would affirm the Batson ruling through independent appellate review rather than deference to the unexplained trial-court ruling.