P. v. Zumot
Defendant Bulos Zumot was convicted, by jury trial, of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a))[1] and arson of an inhabited structure (§ 451, subd. (b)). He was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 25 years to life for the murder, consecutive to an eight-year determinate term for the arson.
On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred by: (1) admitting the victim’s out-of-court statements under the forfeiture by wrongdoing exception to the Confrontation Clause; (2) admitting evidence of prior acts of domestic violence under Evidence Code section 1109 and instructing the jury that it could use that evidence to infer his guilt; (3) instructing the jury on his post-crime conduct pursuant to CALCRIM No. 371; (4) giving the jury an incorrect instruction on the definition of malice; (5) refusing to hold a hearing after defendant claimed he was receiving ineffective assistance of counsel; (6) refusing to rule on defendant’s motion for a new trial; and (7) refusing to appoint a new attorney or grant him a continuance to hire a new attorney. Finally, defendant claims the cumulative effect of the errors requires reversal. For reasons that we will explain, we will affirm the judgment.
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