People v. Superior Court

Opinion

WERDEGAR, J.

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishments, bars the execution of mentally retarded persons for criminal offenses. (Atkins v. Virginia (2002) 536 U.S. 304, 321 [153 L.Ed.2d 335, 122 S.Ct. 2242] (Atkins).) California law, implementing the constitutional command of Atkins, provides a substantive standard and a set of procedures for determining, at the time of trial, whether a person against whom the prosecution seeks the death penalty is mentally retarded. (Pen. Code, § 1376.) This case presents two issues relating to the…