Case Title: State v. Holsinger

Citation: 115 Ariz. 271, 564 P.2d 1238

Docket Number: 3440

State: arizona

Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Date: 1977-04-14T00:00:00Z

Document:
115 Ariz. 271 (1977) 564 P.2d 1238 The STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Jeannie Louise HOLSINGER, Appellant. No. 3440. Supreme Court of Arizona, In Banc. April 14, 1977. Bruce E. Babbitt, Atty. Gen. by William J. Schafer, III, and Thomas G. Bakker, Asst. Attys. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee. Louis A. Moore, Jr., Phoenix, for appellant. CAMERON, Chief Justice. This is an appeal from verdicts and judgments of guilt to the crimes of murder in the first degree, A.R.S. §§ 13-451, -452, -453, -454 and A.R.S. §§ 13-138, -139, -140, with a sentence thereon of life imprisonment without possibility of parole until the completion of 25 calendar years; conspiracy in the first degree, A.R.S. § 13-331(A), with a sentence thereon of not less than 14 nor more than 15 years imprisonment; burglary, first degree, A.R.S. §§ 13-301, -302 and A.R.S. §§ 13-138, -139, -140, with a sentence of not less than 14 nor more than 15 years imprisonment; and conspiracy, second degree, A.R.S. § 13-331(B), with a sentence thereon of not less than 3 nor more than 4 years imprisonment. This is a companion case to State v. Holsinger, 115 *272 Ariz. 89, 563 P.2d 888, No. 3402, filed this day. The defendant raises numerous questions for consideration, but we feel that the answer to one will be dispositive of the appeal: Was it error for the prosecution to fail to disclose to the defendant the grant of immunity to one of the State's key witnesses? The defendant, Jeannie Louise Holsinger, was the wife of Wilmar Goodwin Holsinger and the daughter of Golda B. Horton. Mrs. Horton was a longtime friend of Dr. Harry Schornick, an elderly semi-retired physician. Dr. Schornick and Mrs. Horton held a $24,700 certificate of deposit in joint tenancy with right of survivorship. The State contended that this fact explains the motive since if Dr. Schornick were eliminated, the certificate of deposit became the sole property of the mother and eventually the daughter's. In the spring of 1975, defendant's husband contacted Gary Cagnina and asked him if he could kill Dr. Schornick. Cagnina testified that he did not wish to do so, but that he would be willing to enlist the aid of others. Tim Anderson was approached and he refused. Wade Arnold was recruited by Cagnina and on the evening of 31 May 1975 went with Cagnina to break into Dr. Schornick's house. Three attempts were made to get into the house without success. Finally, in the early morning hours of 1 June 1975, Wade Arnold entered the house by prying one of the doors open with a crowbar. Six shots were fired killing Theresa Bortz, Dr. Schornick's housekeeper of many years and wounding Dr. Schornick. Cagnina and Arnold left immediately and called the Holsingers. Later that day, Cagnina was given $750 by Wilmar Holsinger and told to get out of town for a month. About a month later they returned and Wilmar Holsinger transferred his automobile to Cagnina and gave him $400 as well. The defendant in her notice of defenses filed 6 October 1975, asked for "any other information which would tend to inculpate or exculpate the above named Defendant." On the omnibus form the defendant asked for "Brady materials." Prior to trial the files in the matter of Wilmar Goodwin Holsinger had been made available to the defendant. The file at that time contained a letter dated 18 August 1975 from the office of the Chief of Police of the City of Phoenix concerning Sue Simmons who had testified at the preliminary hearing: After the defendant had the opportunity to review the files, the following letter was placed in the file: During the trial but before the presentation of the State's case, the following transpired: The testimony of Sue Simmons at the trial of the defendant indicated that on 1 June, Jeannie Holsinger came to her in the early afternoon and asked that she cash a check in the amount of $300. Sue Simmons' testimony also indicated that on two occasions prior to this, some nine to ten months before, she, Holsinger, had suggested to Simmons that Dr. Schornick should be killed if she could find somebody to do it. This testimony was vital to the State since it was the only testimony to corroborate the testimony of the accomplices. This testimony was necessary under the statute in effect at that time, A.R.S. § 13-136. True, Tim Anderson was not an accomplice, but while he connected defendant's husband to the crime, he did not connect the defendant and as to his testimony did not corroborate the testimony of the admitted accomplices. It was not until after the trial that defendant learned that Sue Simmons had been granted immunity. At the hearing on the motion for new trial the attorney for defendant stated: And Sue Simmons testified on examination by defendant's attorney as follows: Rule 15.1(a)(7) of the Rules of Criminal Procedure (1973), requires the prosecution to provide "all material or information which tends to mitigate or negate the defendant's guilt as to the offense charged * * *," and 15.6 imposes a continuing duty to disclose. As the Comment to Rule 15.1(a)(7) points out, this rule reads Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963) into the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure providing that such information shall be disclosed prior to trial. Evidence of immunity would certainly be of aid to the defense and would tend to negate guilt by questioning the credibility of a key witness for the State. The United States Supreme Court has stated: Evidence of the grant of immunity would have been helpful to the defendant in raising the credibility of the witness, but also for another reason. Sue Simmons' testimony was vital. She was the only witness that tended to corroborate the testimony of the accomplice. If Sue Simmons was an accomplice for which immunity had been granted in return for her testimony, then a conviction could not have been obtained because it would have been based upon the testimony of an accomplice alone. The fact of immunity was, then, doubly important to defendant; first to test the witness's credibility and second to determine if she was an accomplice. The State, however, points out that at the hearing Sue Simmons testified as follows: This is conjecture on the part of the witness and the prosecution. The fact of immunity was "Brady material" and the prosecution was obligated to provide it. It was error not to disclose this information and we cannot say that it was not prejudicial. Reversed and remanded for a new trial. STRUCKMEYER, V.C.J., and HAYS, HOLOHAN and GORDON, JJ., concur.