Opinion ID: 386857
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: JACKSON v. VIRGINIA CLAIM

Text: 18 Gruttola's claim that he was denied due process because he was convicted on evidence which was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is based upon the Supreme Court's holding in Jackson v. Virginia, supra. In Jackson, the Supreme Court departed from the approach adopted in Thompson v. City of Louisville, 362 U.S. 199, 80 S.Ct. 624, 4 L.Ed.2d 654 (1960) under which state convictions would only be overturned on insufficiency grounds if no evidence at all supported conviction or if the convictions were totally devoid of evidentiary support. Id. at 199, 80 S.Ct. at 625. While Jackson rejected this standard as inconsistent with subsequent holdings regarding the constitutionally required quantum of proof for criminal convictions, the standard enunciated in Jackson remains a difficult one for petitioners to meet. As stated by the Court, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789 (emphasis in original). Under that standard, we must agree with the district court that the writ cannot issue on this ground. 19 The evidence supporting Gruttola's conviction was substantial. Eight eyewitnesses, including one originally called by the defense, testified that they recognized Gruttola as the O'Lunney's gunman. Four of the eyewitnesses were civilians and had no motive to seek Gruttola's conviction. Moreover, the eyewitness testimony was bolstered by corroborating physical evidence. Several eyewitnesses testified that they recognized the overcoat Gruttola was wearing when arrested as that worn by the gunman. One of the bills gathered by the police on East 50th Street was identified by the bartender as one he had marked earlier that night. The gun and hat, also found on East 50th Street, were identified by all of the witnesses either as those used or as similar to those used by the gunman. 20 Gruttola relies heavily upon the character evidence introduced at trial. Gruttola had lived in Queens with his wife and children for many years. For over 20 years, he owned and managed a driving school and insurance business there. Members of the community who knew him for many of those years testified as to his even-tempered and soft-spoken manner and his reputation for honesty. The man described by these witnesses admittedly seems quite unlike the man who robbed O'Lunney's by shooting two men and forcing one of them to crawl to the cash register. Indeed, it was because of Gruttola's uncommon background that he was released on low bail by Judge Wright, thus setting off unusual publicity and controversy. Similarly, at every stage, the judges involved in this case have been disturbed by the difficulty of imagining that a man of Gruttola's background and reputation could act as did the gunman in O'Lunney's bar. 21 There was also other evidence which cast some doubt on Gruttola's guilt. It was odd that no paraffin test or fingerprint analysis was offered. There were some inconsistencies in the eyewitnesses' testimony. The hat found did not fit well on Gruttola who was never known to wear hats at all, and his gun had to be overloaded. Yet these details could well have been regarded as insignificant or as explicable. A paraffin test may not have been performed. Inconsistencies in testimony were minor, as the district court noted. The hat may have been bought only for the robbery, and the gunman may well have wanted an extra bullet. 22 In sum, as the district court noted, the jury's decision was largely a matter of choosing whether to believe Gruttola's version of the events or to believe the version offered by the State. The jury chose to believe the State's witnesses, despite the inconsistencies in the evidence and the character testimony. We cannot say that no rational jury could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on all the evidence.