P. v. Clair CA4/3
Every case is unique. No matter how much it resembles other cases, the parties and the issues are unique to that individual case. And we treat every case with that distinctiveness in mind, striving to give attention to the nuances which distinguish each.
But this case raises singularity to a new level. This case is before us on a Wende motion filed almost 40 years after the underlying crime. Defendant Clair was convicted of murder and two counts of burglary in 1987 for a crime committed in 1984. The jury found the special circumstance that the murder was committed in the course of a burglary to be true and returned a death penalty verdict, which the trial court imposed in its judgment.
In 1992, the California Supreme court affirmed the trial court’s judgment (People v. Clair (1992) 2 Cal.4th 629).
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