Opinion ID: 1823280
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Requested jury instruction on accomplice testimony/ defendant's assignment of error number 7

Text: In this assignment of error, the defendant contends the trial court erred when it declined to give his requested jury instruction regarding accomplice testimony, as B.J. Castleberry testified against him pursuant to a plea agreement. [4] This plea agreement was made known to the jury. The defendant's requested charge was: An accomplice is defined as one who is associated with another in the commission of a crime. An accomplice is a competent witness, wither [sic] for the State or for the defendant, whether he has been convicted or not, or whether he has pleaded guilty, or dismissal entered as to him, or whether he be joined in the same information or indictment with the person on trial or not. Corroboration is desirable, but not always indispensable; the jury may convict on his uncorroborated testimony, and while it is not the rule of law, it is rather the rule of our experience, in dealing with that class of testimony, that while you may convict upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice, still you should act upon his testimony with great caution, subject it to a careful examination in the light of the other evidence in the case, and you are not to convict upon such testimony alone, unless satisfied, after a careful examination of its truth, and also that you can safely rely on it. What the law means by corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice is not merely the corroboration of the accomplice's narrative and the mere details of how the crime charged was committed, but some real and independent corroboration tending to implicate the defendant in the commission of the offense charged. It is not sufficient to corroborate an accomplice as to the facts of the case generally. He should be corroborated as to some material fact which tends to prove that the accused was connected with the crime charged. The corroboration that merely raises a suspicion of guilt, because the accused had an opportunity to commit the offense is not sufficient. While the trial judge did give the first two paragraphs of the requested charge, he refused to give the rest of the charge on the basis that it was argument. Instead, he gave the following charge: As jurors, you alone shall determine the weight and credibility of the evidence. As the sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses and of the weight their testimony deserves, you should scrutinize carefully the testimony given and the circumstances under which the witnesses testified. Now, in evaluating the testimony of the witness you may consider his or her ability and opportunity to observe and remember the matter about which he or she testified, his or her manner while testifying, any reason he or she may have for testifying in favor of or against the State or the defendant and the extent to which the testimony is supported or contradicted by other evidence. The testimony of a witness may be discredited by showing that the witness made a prior statement which contradicts or is inconsistent with his present testimony and such prior statements are admitted only to admitattempt to discredit the witness and not to show that the statements are true. Also the testimony of a witness maybe [sic] discredited by showing that the witness previously was convicted of a crime. The conviction does not necessarily mean that the witness is failing to tell the truth. It is a circumstance you may consider along with all other evidence in deciding whether or not you're gonna believe the testimony of a witness. The testimony of a witness may also be discredited by showing that the witness will benefit in some way by the defendant's conviction or acquittal and that the witness has any other reason or motive for not telling the truth. An accomplice is defined as one who is associated with another in the commission of a crime. An accomplice is a competent witness, either for the State or for the defendant, whether he has been convicted or not, or whether he has pleaded guilty, or dismissal entered as to him, or whether he be joined in the same information or indictment with the person on trial or not. A requested special charge shall be given by the court if it does not require qualification, limitation, or explanation, and if it is wholly correct and pertinent. It need not be given if it is included in the general charge or in another special charge to be given. La.C.Cr. P. art. 807. The trial judge should charge the jury to regard an accomplice's testimony with great caution when the accomplice's testimony is uncorroborated; when the accomplice's testimony is materially corroborated, the special instruction is not mandatory. State v. Schaffner, 398 So.2d 1032 (La.1981); State v. Washington, 407 So.2d 1138 (La.1981); State v. Murray, 375 So.2d 80 (La.1979). For an accomplice's testimony to be materially corroborated, it is enough if there is evidence that confirms material points in an accomplice's tale, and confirms the defendant's identity and some relationship to the situation. Schaffner, 398 So.2d at 1035, citing United States v. Lee, 506 F.2d 111 (D.C.Cir.1974). In the instant case, there is one particularly compelling piece of evidence that confirms B.J. Castleberry's extensive testimony. Crystal Nutt testified that the defendant had told her that he committed the murder. Further, other evidence confirms certain points in B.J. Castleberry's testimony. Harold Brooks' account of the four men arriving at the victim's home is consistent with B.J. Castleberry's account of the arrival. The security tape from the ATM shows two men hiding behind pillars, and a dark truck driving through the parking lot and is also consistent with the testimony of B.J. Castleberry. Bank records confirm that the victim made an ATM withdrawal at the approximate time and in the amount that B.J. Castleberry said he did. Wanda Hughes testified that defendant and B.J. Castleberry sold her the victim's VCR, and Carol Snell testified that defendant sold her the victim's television set, as B.J. Castleberry had testified. Finally, the skillet was broken, as B.J. Castleberry had testified. Defendant argues that, despite all of the aforementioned corroborating testimony, the accomplice instruction still should have been given, as the single most compelling piece of evidence came from Crystal Nutt, who was James Nutt's sister and Austin's ex-girlfriend. She was also pregnant with Austin's child at the time of the murder. However, the jury was fully apprised of both her relationships to the other defendants and her medical condition. Further, the general charge informed the jury that they had the prerogative to believe or disbelieve the testimony of any witness, and they could consider the witness' motive for testifying when exercising this prerogative. Because all of the aforementioned evidence corroborates B.J. Castleberry's testimony, the trial court did not err in refusing the requested jury charge. Further, the jury was informed of possible reasons that B.J. Castleberry, Crystal Nutt, and James Nutt could have for falsely testifying against the defendant, and the general charge properly instructed the jury that they could consider any reason that any witness could have for so testifying against the defendant. Thus, this assignment of error lacks merit.