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

Summary

Justice Liu, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would affirm the denial of defendant's jury-selection challenge, but would do so through independent appellate review rather than deference to the trial court's unexplained ruling. He viewed the record as sufficiently supporting the prosecutor's reliance on the prospective juror's opposition to the death penalty, while giving little weight to the prosecutor's asserted absolute policy concerning jurors whose prior juries hung. Justice Werdegar, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would additionally reverse the aggravated-mayhem conviction for insufficient evidence of specific intent to maim.