How have the voir dire questions in a criminal case been interpreted by the trial court and the prosecutor in this case?

Defendant points out that the illustrations of aggravating evidence used by the prosecutor and the trial court resembled the aggravating evidence actually presented by the prosecution in this case, whereas the illustrations of mitigating evidence were wholly unlike defendant's mitigating evidence. He argues the illustrations were faulty in three respects: (1) The examples of aggravating evidence improperly drew on the facts of this case (see People v. Pinholster (1992) 1 Cal.4th 865, 915-918, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 765, 824 P.2d 571); (2) the illustrations indoctrinated the jury to disregard defendant's mitigating evidence (which was not comparable to the mitigating evidence described in the illustrations) and to give greater weight to the prosecution's aggravating evidence (which was comparable); (3) the illustrations restricted the jury's consideration of defendant's mitigating evidence, and diverted its attention to irrelevant factors.

Our observations in People v. Medina, supra, 11 Cal.4th 694, 741, 47 Cal.Rptr.2d 165, 906 P.2d 2, where the prosecutor gave illustrations similar to those used by the trial court and the prosecutor in this case, are pertinent: "The prosecutor's statements, though somewhat simplistic, were not legally erroneous, and defendant had ample opportunity to correct, clarify, or amplify the prosecutor's remarks through his own voir dire questions and comments. [] Moreover, as a general matter, it is unlikely that errors or misconduct occurring during voir dire questioning will unduly influence the jury's verdict in the case. Any such errors or misconduct `prior to the presentation of argument or evidence, obviously reach the jury panel at a much less critical phase of the proceedings, before its attention has even begun to focus upon the penalty issue confronting it.'" (Ibid.)