Opinion ID: 1895384
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: testimony from a coconspirator

Text: As defined in the Nebraska Criminal Code: (1) A person shall be guilty of criminal conspiracy if, with intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a felony: (a) He agrees with one or more persons that they or one or more of them shall engage in or solicit the conduct or shall cause or solicit the result specified by the definition of the offense; and (b) He or another person with whom he conspired commits an overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-202 (Reissue 1985). However, the information did not allege a conspiracy in violation of § 28-202, but alleged two counts of theft in violation of § 28-511(1). Marvin Copple contends S.E. Copple's testimony is inadmissible for two reasons, namely, the testimony violated the hearsay rule and was not relevant. (1) A statement is (a) an oral or written assertion or (b) nonverbal conduct of a person, if it is intended by him as an assertion; . . . . (3) Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted; and (4) A statement is not hearsay if: . . . . (b) The statement is offered against a party and is ... (v) a statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy. Neb.Evid.R. 801 (Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-801 (Reissue 1985)). Conceal means to hide, secrete, or withhold from knowledge of others; to withhold from utterance or declaration; to cover or keep from sight; to hide or withdraw from observation, cover or keep from sight, or prevent discovery. Christopher v. Evans, 219 Neb. 51, 361 N.W.2d 193 (1985). The word conceal pertains to affirmative action likely to prevent or intended to prevent knowledge of a fact and has reference to some advantage to the concealing party or a disadvantage to some interested party from whom the fact is withheld. Christopher v. Evans, supra . S.E. Copple's testimony related to his nonverbal conduct in or the act of concealing information from Commonwealth's board of directors in reference to the Stettinger transaction and payments to Marvin. S.E. Copple's nonverbal conduct was not a declaration asserting or demonstrating that a fact was true. Rather, the testimony was evidence of S.E. Copple's deliberate withholding of information for Commonwealth's directors and was not an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Because the statements of S.E. Copple were made during his testimony at trial and did not have the characteristics of hearsay, the court correctly overruled Marvin's objection (hearsay). This brings us to Marvin's contention that S.E. Copple's testimony was not relevant. Relevant evidence means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Neb.Evid.R. 401 (Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-401 (Reissue 1985)). The principal element of a conspiracy is an agreement or understanding between two or more persons to inflict a wrong against or injury upon another. Hahn & Hupf Constr. v. Highland Heights Nsg. Home, 222 Neb. 189, 194, 382 N.W.2d 607, 611 (1986). The very nature of a conspiracy requires an element of intent. United States v. Adderly, 529 F.2d 1178 (5th Cir.1976). Frequently, a conspiracy involves intricate situations and several complex acts which make it difficult to establish, by direct proof, a conspiracy or conspiratorial intent. Thus, circumstantial evidence may establish existence of a conspiracy or the criminal intent necessary for a conspiracy. See, State v. McSwain, 194 Neb. 31, 229 N.W.2d 562 (1975); State v. Adams, 181 Neb. 75, 147 N.W.2d 144 (1966). When a conspiracy has been proved, a conspirator's acts and declarations, in furtherance of the conspiracy, are the acts and declarations of all conspirators and are admissible evidence against the coconspirators. State v. Adams, supra . See, also, State v. Watson, 182 Neb. 692, 157 N.W.2d 156 (1968). Judge Learned Hand observed: When men enter into an agreement for an unlawful end, they become ad hoc agents for one another, and have made `a partnership in crime.' What one does pursuant to their common purpose, all do.... Van Riper v. United States, 13 F.2d 961, 967 (2d Cir.1926). As we have already noted, a criminal conspiracy requires an overt act. § 28-202(10(b). An overt act manifests that a conspiracy is still at work. State v. John, 213 Neb. 76, 328 N.W.2d 181 (1982). Also, an overt act, as something done pursuant to a conspiracy, tends to show a preexisting conspiracy and manifests an intent or design toward accomplishment of a crime. See State v. John, supra . An overt act, by itself, need not have the capacity to accomplish the conspiratorial objective and does not have to be a criminal act. See State v. John, supra . Silence, which is designed to conceal, may indicate an intention to conspire and, if intended to facilitate the conspiracy, may be an overt act pursuant to the conspiracy. See United States v. Eucker, 532 F.2d 249 (2d Cir.1976). In State v. Bobo, 198 Neb. 551, 253 N.W.2d 857 (1977), the focal point was a coconspirator's hearsay statement and admissibility of such statement under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule, that is, admissibility pursuant to Neb. Evid.R. 801(4)(b)(v). In Bobo this court stated: To be admissible, the statements of the coconspirator must have been made while the conspiracy was pending and in furtherance of its objects; and if the statements took place after the conspiracy had ended, or if merely narrative of past occurrences, they are not admissible. [Citations omitted.] The coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule is applicable regardless of whether a conspiracy has been charged in the information or not. [Citation omitted.] The rule is well established that before the trier of facts may consider testimony under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule, a prima facie case establishing the existence of the conspiracy must be shown by independent evidence. [Citations omitted.] (Emphasis supplied.) 198 Neb. at 557, 253 N.W.2d at 861. Although the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule is not a determinative issue in Copple's case, we believe the requirement of a prima facie case, contained in Bobo for admissibility of a statement by a coconspirator, is pertinent to the evidential question now before this court: whether S.E. Copple's testimony was admissible as relevant evidence. The phrase prima facie can probably be defined only in terms of sufficient evidence to permit the trial court reasonably to infer that there existed a conspiracy. State v. Thompson, 273 Minn. 1, 17, 139 N.W.2d 490, 503 (1966). See, also, State v. Daniels, 380 N.W.2d 777 (Minn. 1986). In United States v. Trotter, 529 F.2d 806, 812 n. 8 (3d Cir.1976), a prosecution for conspiracy, the court stated: The requirement of prima facie proof is less stringent than that of a preponderance of the evidence. The former requires only enough evidence to take the question to the jury whereas the latter requires proof which leads the jury to find that the existence of the contested fact is more probable than its nonexistence. McCormick, Evidence 794 (2d ed. 1972). We now hold that for admission of a coconspirator's act as evidence against a defendant-coconspirator being tried for a crime other than the conspiracy itself, the trial court must first determine whether the State has proved a prima facie case that (1) a conspiracy existed, (2) the defendant and the witness were members of the conspiracy, and (3) the witness' act was done during and in furtherance of the conspiracy. We emphasize, however, that there is a distinction between proving conspiracy as a crime, see § 28-202, where proof beyond a reasonable doubt is required, and establishing conspiracy as a prerequisite and a means to achieve admission of an alleged coconspirator's acts and declarations as evidence, where only a prima facie showing of conspiracy is sufficient. The judge shall exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to (a) make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth, (b) avoid needless consumption of time, and (c) protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarassment [sic]. Neb.Evid.R. 611(1) (Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-611(1) (Reissue 1985)). Nevertheless, whether the State has established a prima facie case of conspiracy, thereby constituting anything within execution or furtherance of the common purpose as the act of every coconspirator, is a preliminary question for the trial court concerning admissibility of evidence. See Neb.Evid.R. 104(1) (Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-104(1) (Reissue 1985)). Rule 104(1) was the procedure correctly utilized by the trial court in Copple's case. Presentation of the State's evidence in Copple's case consumed 13 days of trial and is spread over 2,563 of the 3,058 pages of testimony contained in a bill of exceptions consisting of 14 volumes, excluding pretrial and posttrial matters. To adduce that quantity of evidence outside a jury's presence and then require repetition of the same admissible testimony before the jury would unduly and unnecessarily prolong what was already a lengthy trial, as cases involving conspiracy are likely to be. Consequently, the prima facie case of conspiracy may be established as a part of and through the evidence presented to the jury concerning the substantive crime charged against the coconspirator-defendant. We have characterized proof of a prima facie case of conspiracy as a preliminary question for the trial court under Neb.Evid.R. 104(1) and a prerequisite for admissibility of a coconspirator's acts, rather than making relevance depend on proof of another fact to be later established during adduction of evidence, a connecting up, as authorized by Neb.Evid.R. 104(2), which states: When the relevancy of evidence depends upon the fulfillment of a condition of fact, the judge shall admit it upon, or subject to, the introduction of evidence sufficient to support a finding of the fulfillment of the condition. Admission of evidence from a coconspirator, subject to the State's later completing proof of a prima facie case of conspiracy, presents some procedural problems which may result in unwarranted, or even unfair, prejudice to a defendant, for example, the necessity of a motion to strike evidence conditionally received, a request to withdraw the coconspirator's testimony from consideration by the jury, or an instruction that the jury shall disregard the evidence which has been presented but not linked to a conspiracy. Whatever procedure might seem most appropriate on failure of proof after a conditional admission of evidence, there is an ever-present risk that the court's later instruction may not erase a prejudicial impression on the jury with the specter of a mistrial. See McCormick on Evidence § 58 (E. Cleary 3d ed. 1984). At the point in the trial where the State sought introduction of S.E. Copple's testimony about his concealment of or withholding information from Commonwealth's board of directors, there was evidence as follows: S.E. Copple and Marvin were directors and officers of Commonwealth and had reached an agreement in January 1980 regarding Commonwealth's acquisition of the Stettinger real estate, including $500,000 to be paid to Marvin. Marvin's claim on the Stettinger property was, at best, based on an oral contract, and there were no documents embodying any agreement between S.E. Copple and Marvin. Stettinger's property had a market value of $600,000 at the time of sale to Commonwealth on February 1, 1980. Commonwealth's payments to Marvin, that is, the two checks of $250,000 each, were made to Marvin in January and April of 1981. Marvin had minimal contact with the Stettinger property after its acquisition by Commonwealth. The size of the payment to Marvin ($500,000) in relation to the market value of the Stettinger property ($600,000) was an additional circumstance. Finally, there was the collapse of Commonwealth in November 1983, which marked the outer boundary of the conduct contended by the State to be conspiratorial. A trial court's finding that a prima facie case has been established concerning existence of a conspiracy will be upheld unless such finding is clearly erroneous. Cf. United States v. Posner, 764 F.2d 1535, 1537 (11th Cir.1985) (trial court's determination is a finding of fact which may be overturned only if clearly erroneous). C.f., also, United States v. Arruda, 715 F.2d 671, 684 (1st Cir.1983) (in reviewing a trial court's ruling on the showing made by the government for evidence from a coconspirator, we must accept that court's findings of fact supporting the ruling unless they are clearly erroneous). In Copple's case there is evidence which supports the district court's finding that the State had established a prima facie case that a conspiracy existed between S.E. Copple and Marvin. The district court's finding of a prima facie case of conspiracy is correct. When the State established its prima facie case of conspiracy, evidence of S.E. Copple's concealment or withholding information from Commonwealth's board of directors was circumstantial evidence for the jury's consideration in determining whether Marvin Copple, as S.E. Copple's coconspirator, was guilty of theft as charged. See Neb.Evid.R. 401. The admission or exclusion of evidence is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court, whose ruling on an evidential question will be upheld unless such ruling constitutes an abuse of discretion. State v. Bostwick, 222 Neb. 631, 385 N.W.2d 906 (1986). There is no abuse of discretion in the district court's admitting S.E. Copple's testimony as evidence against Marvin.