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State v. Fortin2/3/2004
s boyfriend had anal sex with her one to two weeks before her murder did not qualify as a mitigating factor because it too bore no relationship to the crime. Such evidence did not refute the evidence that Padilla was the victim of a sexual crime at the time of the murder. Defendant was unable to present any evidence that the "fresh" wounds to Padilla's anus were caused by consensual sexual relations with her boyfriend.
We next consider defendant's argument that he was denied the opportunity to present mitigating evidence. This Court has recognized that mitigating evidence serves multiple purposes:
(1) to weaken the State's proofs concerning the existence of aggravating factors; (2) to establish the existence of mitigating factors; and (3) to bolster the weight of those mitigating factors found to exist in an attempt to have those factors outweigh the aggravating factors found to exist during the jurors' ultimate deliberation.
[State v. Martini, 131 N.J. 176, 316 (1993)
(Martini I), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 875, 116 S.Ct. 203, 133 L.Ed. 2d 137 (1995).]
The defendant has a right to both criticize the evidence supporting the aggravating factors as well as to present his own evidence supporting mitigating factors and undermining aggravating factors. State v. Josephs, 174 N.J. 44, 116 (2002); see also N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3c(2)(b) (providing that defendant "may offer, without regard to the rules governing the admission of evidence at criminal trials, reliable evidence relevant to any of the mitigating factors"); N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3c(2)(d) (providing that defendant and State may rebut any evidence presented during penalty trial and may argue adequacy of evidence establishing any aggravating or mitigating factor).
In State v. Davis, this Court emphasized the different evidentiary standards applicable to the guilt and penalty phases. 96 N.J. 611, 619-20 (1984). Given this "most sensitive and critical aspect of the capital punishment statute," the Court found that the Legislature intended "a broad understanding of evidential relevance" during the penalty phase. Id. at 619.
The Court noted "doubts must be resolved in favor of admission when evidence of a mitigating factor is offered by the defendant." Id. at 620. Additionally, evidence inadmissible during the guilt phase, such as a claim-of-right defense to robbery, may be admissible during the penalty phase to lessen the weight that a jury might give to the felony-robbery-murder aggravating factor. Mejia, supra, 141 N.J. at 500. However, the Court cautioned in Davis, supra, that a relaxation of the standards of admissibility is not the equivalent of "automatic admissibility." 96 N.J. at 623. A court may exclude mitigation evidence if its "probative value is substantially outweighed by its unfounded or speculative character or by the risk it would cause confusion." Morton I, supra, 155 N.J. at 461.
The drug sales evidence did not discredit the felony robbery-murder aggravating factor because there was no evidence that connected drug dealing to the murder. We found the drug dealing evidence irrelevant in the guilt phase; we find it irrelevant in the penalty phase as well. See supra Part IV.B.
The trial court, nevertheless, gave defense counsel considerable latitude to explore this subject. Defense counsel elicited through cross-examination of the State's witnesses the drug milieu of the area in which the crime was committed. For instance, he established that Padilla was killed in an area spotted with welfare motels and known for drug activity. He also proved that a civilian witness had smoked crack cocaine with the victim in the room of a local motel and that a law enfo
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