People v. Alvarez

Opinion

MOSK, J.

This is an automatic appeal (Pen. Code, § 1239, subd. (b)) from a judgment including a sentence of death rendered under the 1978 death penalty law (id., § 190 et seq.). For the reasons that follow, we shall affirm.

I. Introduction

In the Sacramento Superior Court, defendant, Manuel Machado Alvarez, and a codefendant, Belinda Denise Ross, were charged in an amended information by the Sacramento District Attorney on behalf of the People, as follows.

In count 1, defendant and Ross were each charged with murdering Allen Birkman. (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a).) For death eligibility,…