McClain v. State

1 Citing brief

  1. PEOPLE v. MORA

    Respondent’s Brief

    Filed February 24, 2011

    This Court, as recently as last year, summarized the law onthis area as follows: As wehavepreviously observed, victim impact evidenceis not limited to the effect of the victim's death on family members (People v. Pollock (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1153, 1183, 13 Cal.Rptr.3d 34, 89 P.3d 353), but may includeits effects on the victim's friends, coworkers, and the community. (People v. Huggins (2006) 38 Cal.4th 175, 222, 238-239, 41 Cal.Rptr.3d 593, 131 P.3d 995 [testimony from friends and coworkers mourning the loss of the victim and describing the erection of a bronze statue of the victim by the community wasrelevant to the circumstances of the crime]; accord, McClain v. State (1996) 267 Ga. 378, 477 S.E.2d 814, 824 [‘‘the trial court has discretion 134 to question witnesses regarding the effect of the victim's death on the community”].) Nor are victim impact witnesses limited to expressions ofgrief, for our case law permits a showing of “the specific harm caused by the defendant” (People v. Edwards, supra, 54 Cal.3d at p. 835, 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 696, 819 P.2d 436), which encompasses the spectrum of human responses, including anger and aggressiveness (Peoplev.