Opinion ID: 597873
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Corroboration of Hughes' Testimony/Sufficiency of the Evidence

Text: 5 At the time of Harrington's conviction, Iowa law provided as follows: 6 A conviction cannot be had upon the testimony of an accomplice, unless corroborated by other evidence which shall tend to connect the defendant with the commission of the offense; and the corroboration is not sufficient if it merely show the commission of the offense or the circumstances thereof. 7 Iowa Code § 782.5 (1977). 2 Harrington argues that Hughes' testimony was not corroborated as required by Iowa law, and he was therefore convicted on the basis of insufficient evidence. The state argues, and the Iowa Supreme Court held, that § 782.5 was satisfied because there was sufficient corroboration. Harrington, 284 N.W.2d at 248-49. The state also argues that § 782.5 is not at issue because Hughes was not Harrington's accomplice. We need not address these specific issues because state laws requiring corroboration do not implicate constitutional concerns that can be addressed on habeas review. E.g., Redding v. Minnesota, 881 F.2d 575, 578 (8th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1089, 110 S.Ct. 1158, 107 L.Ed.2d 1061 (1990); Gipson v. Lockhart, 692 F.2d 66, 68 (8th Cir.1982) (per curiam). There is also no constitutional requirement that accomplice testimony be corroborated. See DuBois v. Lockhart, 859 F.2d 1314, 1317 (8th Cir.1988). 8 To the extent that Harrington raises a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we simply require that the evidence adduced at trial, when viewed in the light most favorable to the government, be sufficient to persuade a rational trier of fact that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). As a matter of federal constitutional law, there was sufficient evidence for the jury to convict Harrington. Hughes' testimony places Harrington at the scene of the crime and in possession of the murder weapon. Hughes also testified he heard the shotgun blast, and that Harrington stated he shot somebody. Forensic testing verified that a shotgun had been carried in Harrington's coat. The jury was entitled to discredit Hughes because he was involved in the events of that night and because an alibi witness testified that she was with Harrington on the night in question. However, Jackson does not require this; the jury was also entitled (as it obviously did) to believe Hughes and disbelieve the alibi witness. We conclude there was sufficient evidence upon which the jury could find Harrington guilty because the standards prescribed by Jackson v. Virginia have been met.