California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Lang, 264 Cal.Rptr. 386, 49 Cal.3d 991, 782 P.2d 627 (Cal. 1989):
Defendant relies primarily on People v. Deere (1985) 41 Cal.3d 353, 222 Cal.Rptr. 13, 710 P.2d 925. In that case the defendant, with his counsel's consent, pleaded guilty to the charges against him and admitted a special [49 Cal.3d 1030] circumstance allegation. Defendant waived jury trial on the issue of penalty, again with the concurrence of his counsel, presented no mitigating evidence, and requested a verdict of death. The resulting judgment of death was reversed on the grounds that defense counsel, in acceding to defendant's wish not to present mitigating evidence, rendered ineffective assistance and frustrated the state's interest in ensuring reliable penalty verdicts in capital cases. (Pp. 363-364, 222 Cal.Rptr. 13, 710 P.2d 925; see also, People v. Burgener (1986) 41 Cal.3d 505, 541-542, 224 Cal.Rptr. 112, 714 P.2d 1251.)
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