People v. Bloom

Summary

The court held that defense counsel violated the defendant’s Sixth Amendment autonomy right by conceding responsibility for two murders over his express objection, but not by presenting a mental-capacity defense or conceding responsibility for the murder the defendant acknowledged committing. The violation was structural as to the two affected murder counts and required reversal of those convictions, related allegations, the multiple-murder special circumstance, and the death judgment, while leaving the father’s murder conviction and associated firearm finding undisturbed. The court rejected the defendant’s additional challenges concerning retrial delay, competency proceedings, former testimony, expert cross-examination, and prosecutorial misconduct.