Does a jury have to consider whether a defendant's evidence of intoxication in mitigation constitute aggravation or aggravation?

California, United States of America

The following excerpt is from People v. Hughes, 116 Cal.Rptr.2d 401, 27 Cal.4th 287, 39 P.3d 432 (Cal. 2002):

Contrary to defendant's suggestions, we do not read this passage as telling the jury that it was precluded from considering defendant's evidence of intoxication in mitigation, and we do not believe that a reasonable juror would have so understood the comment. The prosecutor repeatedly told the jury that it was up to each individual juror to decide whether factors in aggravation or mitigation existed, and if so, how much weight to give to them. We believe that a reasonable juror would have understood the prosecutor's challenged comment to reflect nothing more than his own assessment of the evidence. (See People v. Marshall, supra, 13 Cal.4th 799, 857-858, 55 Cal.Rptr.2d 347, 919 P.2d 1280.)

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