People v. Helzer
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Glen Taylor Helzer pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and multiple other charges, including robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy. After a penalty trial, he was sentenced to death for the five counts of murder. An appeal automatically went to the California Supreme Court.
The Court ultimately affirmed the judgment after considering various issues raised by the defendant. Among other things, he argued that the officers who executed certain search warrants violated his Fourth Amendment rights, which should result in the blanket suppression of related evidence and allow him to withdraw his guilty plea. The Court found that blanket suppression of the evidence was not warranted. It also rejected the defendant's challenges related to jury selection, such as arguments that the trial court improperly excused a potential juror and prevented him from asking a particular question during voir dire.
In addition, the Court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting certain types of evidence of corpse dismemberment. It found that the prosecutor misstated the law during closing arguments but concluded that the misstatements did not warrant reversal. Finally, the Court rejected the defendant's challenges to the California death penalty statute.
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