P. v. Marquez
A jury convicted Victor Alexander Marquez of the stabbing murder of Maria Juarez (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) and found true the special circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery (id., § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A)). The trial court sentenced Marquez to a term of life without the possibility of parole. He was 17 at the time of the crime. There is no doubt Marquez committed the murder. He confessed to the crime, his DNA was found at the scene as the result of a wound he suffered during the murder, and Juarez’s and Marquez’s DNA was found on the murder weapon that was hidden in his bedroom.
Marquez argues the trial court erred when it refused to suppress his confession and the incriminating evidence found when police officers searched his residence pursuant to a probation search condition. He also claims the trial court erred when it denied his numerous motions for the appointment of new counsel pursuant to People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118 (Marsden). We disagree and affirm the conviction.
Marquez also contends the sentence of life without the possibility of parole constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. While this case was pending, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. ___ [132 S.Ct. 2455] (Miller), which held that a sentencing scheme that mandates a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a juvenile offender for a homicide offense constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Comments on P. v. Marquez