Opinion ID: 2171187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: was the evidence sufficient to support serebin's conviction of homicide by reckless conduct arising from a resident's death while serebin acted as administrator?

Text: This court recently stated the following standard of review to be utilized when testing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction in State v. Alles, 106 Wis. 2d 368, 376-77, 316 N.W.2d 378 (1982): `We test the sufficiency of the evidence leading to the conviction by the oft-stated rules as follows: This court must affirm if it finds that the jury, acting reasonably, could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The function of weighing the credibility of witnesses is exclusively in the jury's province, and the jury verdict will be overturned only if, viewing the evidence most favorably to the state and the conviction, it is inherently or patently incredible, or so lacking in probative value that no jury could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.' Fells v. State, 65 Wis. 2d 525, 529, 223 N.W.2d 507 (1974) (dealing with conviction of attempted first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery) (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added); Cranmore v. State, 85 Wis. 2d 722, 774, 271 N.W.2d 402 (Ct. App. 1978); Gauthier v. State, 28 Wis. 2d 412, 416, 137 N.W.2d 101 (1965) cert. denied 383 U.S. 916 (1966). We note that our review of sufficiency of the evidence questions is limited further by the principle that `[i]f more than one inference can be drawn from the evidence, the inference which supports the jury finding must be followed unless the testimony was incredible as a matter of law.' Murphy v. State, 75 Wis. 2d 522, 526, 249 N.W.2d 779 (1977); See: State v. Lunz, 86 Wis. 2d 695, 705, 273 N.W.2d 767 (1979); Beavers v. State, 63 Wis. 2d 597, 609, 217 N.W. 2d 307 (1974). These principles limiting our review are grounded on the sound reasoning that the jury has the `great advantage of being present at the trial'; it can weigh and sift conflicting testimony and attribute weight to those nonverbal attributes of the witnesses which are often persuasive indicia of guilt or innocence. See: Gauthier v. State, supra at 416. It bears repeating that we will not substitute our judgment for that of the jury unless, under all the evidence presented, the jury could not have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, as we view it, if any possibility exists that the jury could have drawn the appropriate inferences from the evidence adduced at trial to find the requisite guilt, we will not overturn a verdict even if we believe that a jury should not have found guilt based on the evidence before it. (Emphasis added.) For a jury to convict Serebin of homicide by reckless conduct, contrary to sec. 940.06, Stats. 1975, the jury must first find that the defendant's actions constituted reckless conduct. See, Wis. J ICriminal 1160 (1962). Section 940.06(2), Stats. (1975), states, Reckless conduct consists of an act which creates a situation of unreasonable risk and high probability of death or great bodily harm to another and which demonstrates a conscious disregard for the safety of another and a willingness to take known chances of perpetrating an injury.... The state argues that the jury reasonably found that the defendant willingly undertook to staff Glendale at a level which he knew created a situation of unreasonable risk for the patients. The state maintains that Serebin's staffing decisions and the conditions which resulted from these decisions caused Bruno Dreyer's death on February 7, 1976, due to his unsupervised wandering. When we review the record in the instant case, it reveals that Serebin was the officially designated administrator of Glendale at the time of Dreyer's death. His testimony, which had originally been given at a John Doe proceeding and was subsequently introduced at trial, indicates that he was responsible for the day-to-day operation of Glendale. He supervised the care and treatment of the residents through the licensed personnel. Serebin also stated that he discussed the staffing patterns for the different shifts on the various units with the directors of nursing, which included a discussion of the number of licensed personnel to be employed by the home. The directors submitted staffing plans to Serebin, which he reviewed for feasibility. Serebin's main concern was operating within the budget. At trial, Serebin denied that he had discussed staffing with the nursing directors. However, Regina Ahrenholz, one of the nursing directors, confirmed that she met with Serebin weekly to discuss staffing and submitted a schedule to him periodically. The record also reveals that Dorothy Waggoner, a health facility surveyor for the state, testified that during her annual survey of Glendale in February of 1975, she found staffing deficiencies at Glendale of such character as to jeopardize the health, safety, and welfare of the patients. She ordered Glendale to correct these deficiencies. Twelve nurses testified that during the winter of 1975-76, Serebin reduced the nursing staff further, even though he was told specifically by the nurses that these reductions would make it impossible to supervise and care for patients, especially those who had a tendency to wander around and try to leave the building. This testimony was corroborated by that of five aides. In particular, Luchia Byal testified that she resigned from Glendale twice in 1975 and 1976 because of insufficient staffing. She also testified that she spoke with Serebin weekly during the period from December, 1975, through June, 1976, concerning the inadequate care and supervision the residents were receiving due to the insufficient staffing. Sandra Baumgartner and Dolores Reynolds testified that they asked Serebin to stop admitting patients or to employ more staff. Baumgartner testified that Serebin said that he had to keep admitting residents and that hiring more staff would exceed his budget. Other nurses gave similar testimony. The record also reveals that on January 27, 1976, a little more than a week prior to Dreyer's death, Darla Senn, a nursing consultant for the state, submitted a correction order to Serebin, characterizing the understaffing as an occurrence which endangered the patients' health, welfare, and safety .... This resulted from Senn's annual inspection of Glendale which was conducted in January of 1976. As we noted above, the credibility of the witnesses is for the jury to determine. Although Serebin denied his participation in staffing decisions at trial, the testimony of other witnesses from which the jury could have concluded that Serebin's actions evinced reckless conduct is overwhelming. The above evidence indicates that Serebin was repeatedly warned by his own staff and state officials that the insufficient staffing created a situation in which patients did not receive adequate care and supervision and especially that wandering residents could not be adequately watched. From this, a reasonable jury could have inferred that Serebin's actions regarding staff cuts and continued admissions created a high probability of death or great bodily harm. For example, if residents left the building and were exposed to the elements during harsh weather, or became ill or injured and required prompt medical attention, the lack of staff could aggravate those conditions, resulting in death or great bodily harm. It is common knowledge that elderly patients require close supervision and care because of the physical and mental conditions which often accompany the aging process. The evidence indicates that Serebin knowingly allowed the probability of such dangers to exist, from which the jury could infer a conscious disregard for the residents entrusted to his care and a willingness to take known chances of risks. The jury, therefore, could have concluded that in acting as he did, Serebin should have realized that he created a situation of unreasonable risk to the residents at Glendale. See, Hart v. State, 75 Wis. 2d 371, 397, 249 N.W.2d 810 (1977). However, for a jury to convict Serebin of homicide by reckless conduct, the state must also prove that the defendant's reckless conduct caused Dreyer's death. Section 940.06(1), Stats. 1975, provides, Whoever causes the death of another human being by reckless conduct may be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned not more than 5 years or both. In order to prove that the defendant's reckless conduct caused the death of Dreyer, the state is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Serebin's recklessness in staffing Glendale at an insufficient level was a substantial factor in producing the death. Cranmore v. State, 85 Wis. 2d 722, 775, 271 N.W.2d 402 (Ct. App. 1978); Hart v. State, 75 Wis. 2d at 397. The evidence adduced at trial concerning whether or not Serebin's conduct caused Dreyer's death is as follows. Jeanne Raber, a licensed practical nurse, testified that she worked the night shift beginning February 6 and continuing through February 7, the date of Dreyer's death. Raber was in charge of 1 North, Dreyer's unit, as well as the other units. There were also two aides working on 1 North on the same date, although not for the entire duration of the night shift. The patient population of the three units totaled two hundred. Rose Marie Lietz, the night supervisor at Glendale, testified that prior to the staff cuts, three aides had worked on 1 North during the night shift, as well as one nurse who was responsible for 1 North and only one other unit. Raber testified that because of the number of residents for whom she was responsible, she was not able to personally make rounds and observe all the patients. Therefore, she had to rely on her two aides to make the rounds. One of the aides, LaVonia Woods, testified that she assisted Dreyer to his room at 11:40 p.m., but did not see him get into bed. The aide testified that later in the evening, she looked into Dreyer's room without entering the room, and it appeared to her from the hallway that Dreyer was in his bed. She further testified that when she entered the rooms of individual patients, it was physicially impossible for her to see the corridor. Serebin testified at Dreyer's inquest, which testimony was subsequently introduced at trial, that the doors leading from 1 North to the outside could not be kept locked because it was an emergency exit. There was an alarm installed on one door to alert the staff when it was opened. However, the sliding glass doors through which Dreyer apparently left had no such alarm. Serebin also testified at the inquest that he knew that Dreyer had walked away from the ward on prior occasions by reviewing the 24-hour reports which were compiled by unit nurses daily and detailed new admissions, discharges, and changes in conditions. At trial, he testified that he only learned of Dreyer's propensity to wander when he read Dreyer's chart following his death. The record indicates that when licensed practical nurse Linda Jones arrived at 6:30 a.m. on February 7, she told the aides to conduct a bed check. The aides told her that Dreyer was missing. Jones searched for him and observed footprints leading from the patio doors outside 1 North. She called the maintenance department and asked that they follow the footprints. Daniel Maciejewski, a maintenance worker, discovered Dreyer's body lying in the snow on Glendale's grounds. The parties stipulated at trial that the body was found at 8:45 a.m. and that the immediate cause of death, determined from an autopsy, was exposure to the cold, which probably occurred between midnight and 3:00 a.m. on February 7, 1976. The parties also stipulated that the temperature on that night ranged from 8° F. to 15° F. Wisconsin Jury InstructionCriminal 1160, dealing with homicide by reckless conduct, contains the following language concerning the second element of the offense: The second element of this offense requires that a relation of cause and effect exists between the death of ____ and the reckless conduct of the defendant, if the defendant engaged in such conduct. You are instructed that a relation of cause and effect exists between such conduct and the death of ____ when such conduct was a cause of death. There may be more than one cause of death. The conduct of one person alone might produce it, or the conduct of two or more persons might jointly produce it. Before such relation of cause and effect can be found to exist, however, it must appear that the conduct under consideration was a substantial factor in producing the death. That is to say, that it was a factor actually operating and which had substantial effect in producing the death as a natural result. Wharton's utilizes the following discussion concerning causation: Where the statute involves a specified result that is caused by conduct, it must be shown, as a minimal requirement, that the accused's conduct was an antecedent `but for' which the result in question would not have occurred. This means that an accused's conduct must at least be a physical cause of the harmful result. But mere physical causation is not always enough; a particular physical cause is enough only when it is a cause of which the law will take cognizance. This idea has been implemented by requiring that the harmful result in question be the natural and probable consequence of the accused's conduct; if the physical causation is too remote, the law will not take cognizance of it. The same result has been achieved by requiring that the accused's conduct be a substantial factor in causing the harmful result or that it be the proximate, primary, efficient, or legal cause of such harmful result. 1 Wharton's Criminal Law, sec. 26 at 122-26 (14th ed. 1978) (footnotes omitted). We agree with the court of appeals that the state has not proved that defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in causing Dreyer's death. There is no testimony in the record from which the jury could have reasonably inferred that had more than two aides or one nurse been available for the supervision of residents on 1 North, Dreyer could not have wandered away undiscovered. Rose Marie Lietz testified that making rounds during the night shift means seeing each patient at least every two hours. Although the jury may have inferred from this testimony that such a bed check once every two hours during the night of February 7, may have revealed Dreyer's absence sooner than it actually was discovered, the record is barren concerning whether it would have prevented his death. As the court of appeals noted, there is no testimony in the record concerning how quickly Dreyer died when exposed to the temperatures of between 8° and 15° F. The stipulation of the parties, stating that the death occurred between midnight and 3:00 a.m., when aide LaVonia Woods testified that she had assisted Dreyer approximately twenty minutes before midnight, indicates that Dreyer's death may have occurred rather quickly. This would show that even had the ideal two-hour bed check been possible with sufficient staffing, Dreyer may have wandered outside and died of exposure within the two-hour interval between bed checks. The testimony of aide Woods is also insufficient. Woods testified that she used the following routine on unit 4 North: I didn't have time to do anything because when I got to 4 North you just go through, you know, you check You wouldn't get through the whole floor, so you just go and check and see, to peek in the room and see if each patient is in their bed. Thus, it is not clear that the shortage of staff on 1 North prevented Woods from doing anything more than peeking into each room, since this testimony concerns Woods' routine on 4 North. Woods' testimony concerning her routine on 1 North, the unit Dreyer occupied, is as follows: As an aide there on 1 North, and any floors, 1 North, when you first get on the floor you goyou check each you check the rooms. If there's anybody out in the hallway or wandering around or walking when you hit that floor, you go and check to see what's wrong. In the first place, at that time of night patients usually be in bed. It is not clear from Woods' testimony whether checking a room consists of merely peeking into the room from the doorway, as she did at Dreyer's room. If this was in fact the routine followed by Woods, it is also not clear whether this cursory check of the unit resulted from the staffing shortage and Woods' resulting inability to perform her duties as thoroughly as she would have had more staff members been available. The state argues that the jury reasonably inferred that had three aides been present on 1 North for the duration of the shift on the night Dreyer died, one could have monitored the halls and doors while the others made more careful checks of the rooms. Therefore, the state asserts that the jury inferred that even if Dreyer had managed to slip out, his departure would have been promptly observed by the aide watching the hall. However, there is no testimony in the record that this proposed routine would have been followed by the staff on 1 North had more aides and nurses been available. Also, there is no testimony concerning the physical layout of the unit and whether or not it was possible for a resident to somehow walk away unobserved even with an aide monitoring the hall. Therefore, we believe that the inference that Dryer would have been observed, based upon an inference that the staff would have utilized this routine, is too speculative to support Serebin's conviction for homicide by reckless conduct. [I]t is settled law in all jurisdictions that criminal agency must be shown beyond a reasonable doubt; it cannot rest upon conjecture or speculation. Fine v. State, 193 Tenn. 422, 428, 246 S.W.2d 70 (1952). Accordingly, we find the record insufficient to sustain Serebin's conviction for homicide by reckless conduct.