Opinion ID: 1660525
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Defendant contends that the verdict and conviction should be set aside because of insufficiency of the evidence. This argument is primarily addressed to the fact that no witness testified that he saw Smith actually commit the crime of burglarizing the antique shop. In short, as stated by Mr. Justice HALLOWS in State v. Johnson (1960), 11 Wis. 2d 130, 134, 104 N. W. 2d 379, he was not caught in the act like a child with his hand in the cooky jar. He was convicted in part at least upon circumstantial evidence, rather than upon the testimonial evidence of a person who saw him break the window and remove the two boxes from the antique shop. In Schwantes v. State (1906), 127 Wis. 160, 176, 106 N. W. 237, Mr. Justice MARSHALL, speaking for the court, stated: ... circumstantial evidence must be sufficiently strong to exclude every reasonable theory of innocence, and that is likewise true of direct evidence. There should be no distrust thrown on the former even in regard to proof of the essential elements of the corpus delicti. If the punishment of criminal offenses were to wait upon the production of direct evidence of the body of the crime, or any other element necessary to conviction, there would be immunity in that regard in perhaps the majority of the most serious cases of criminal homicide and other most heinous offenses. In no other way can society be efficiently protected, wrongs redressed, and rights protected than to abide by what has been said. However, there need be no apology for the probative value of circumstantial evidence. Schwantes v. State, supra , and Spick v. State (1909), 140 Wis. 104, 121 N. W. 664, both point out that circumstantial evidence may be, and often is, stronger and more convincing than testimonial evidence. 1 Wigmore, Evidence (3d ed.), p. 404, sec. 26, cites the statement of Chief Justice SHAW appearing in Commonwealth v. Webster, 5 Cushing 295, 311: Circumstantial evidence, therefore, is founded on experience and observed facts and coincidences, establishing a connection between the known and proved facts and the fact sought to be proved. The advantages are, that, as the evidence commonly comes from several witnesses and different sources, a chain of circumstances is less likely to be falsely prepared and arranged, and falsehood and perjury are more likely to be detected and fail of their purpose. It is clear that a finding of guilt can rest upon evidence which is entirely circumstantial. Hemmis v. State (1964), 24 Wis. 2d 346, 129 N. W. 2d 209; Oseman v. State (1966), 32 Wis. 2d 523, 145 N. W. 2d 766. The test of sufficiency of the evidence in a criminal case is the same whether the proof be by evidence that is circumstantial or testimonial. The burden is upon the state in all cases to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Gauthier v. State (1965), 28 Wis. 2d 412, 137 N. W. 2d 101, certiorari denied, 383 U. S. 916, 86 Sup. Ct. 910, 15 L. Ed. 2d 671. The test upon appeal is not whether the evidence if presented to this court would be sufficient to convince us of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but whether the evidence adduced, believed, and rationally considered was sufficient for the jury to make such a finding. Gauthier, supra, page 416. The standard to be used when appraising the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence is identical in that each of the several circumstances relied upon must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and these circumstances must not only point with moral certainty to the guilt of the defendant, but must exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. See State v. Johnson (1960), 11 Wis. 2d 130, 136, 104 N. W. 2d 379. Applying those standards to the facts at hand it is clear that the evidence is sufficient to permit the jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is undisputed that the window was broken and certain objects taken from the antique shop. There was without doubt a burglarious entry. The Barnes' were awakened by the noise of that entry, and only a very few minutes later Barnes observed a man in a light-colored coat and dark hat of husky build moving around directly in front of the forced window. He was observed by Barnes for six minutes and continuously until the police arrived at the scene. Barnes then identified the defendant as the man he saw in the gangway or alley. It is undisputed that Smith was first observed by the police in the gangway at a point approximately the location of the window to the antique shop. When asked to stop he did not do so immediately, and when asked to explain his presence he gave the incredible statement that he was taking a shortcut home, when the facts showed that the Barnes place was not on the route of a shortcut, but was out of the way. The jury was the sole judge of the defendant's credibility; and these discrepancies, plus the voluntary admission of the defendant on the stand that he was on parole, might well have contributed to the jury's doubt of the truth of the defendant's veracity. They could well have concluded that his entire explanation was a falsehood. The circumstantial evidence taken as a wholethe fact that he was positively identified by Barnes as at the scene of the crime for a period of several minutes and engaged in some activity near the window immediately following the noise that resulted from the entry through the window, coupled with explanations the falsehood of which undermines the defendant's credibility establishes circumstances that are wholly incompatible with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We are satisfied that the evidence adduced, believed, and rationally considered by the jury was sufficient to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We concur with the trial judge when he stated the verdict, clearly conforms with the overwhelming evidence.