People v. Alvarez

Summary

The court affirmed Alvarez’s convictions, special-circumstance findings, and death judgment, while striking a $200 parole revocation fine. It held that Alvarez forfeited his renewed venue challenge, that the murder and child-assault charges were properly joined, that the challenged juror communication did not create a substantial likelihood of bias, and that the trial court properly admitted the psychologist’s rebuttal testimony without a Kelly hearing. The court’s opinion also concluded that any error in the juror matter was nonprejudicial because the communication involved only nonsubstantive matters.