Opinion ID: 1249013
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: purvis testimony

Text: In her third assignment of error, Tyma argues that the district court erred in permitting Purvis to testify at trial because he was an inmate within the meaning of § 29-2262.01, which provides: A person placed on probation by a court of the State of Nebraska, an inmate of any jail or correctional or penal facility, or an inmate who has been released on parole, probation, or work release shall be prohibited from acting as an undercover agent or employee of any law enforcement agency of the state or any political subdivision. Any evidence derived in violation of this section shall not be admissible against any person in any proceeding whatsoever. On July 26, 2001, Tyma filed a motion in limine requesting that the court prohibit the State from calling Purvis as a witness. She asserted in the motion that Purvis' testimony would be in violation of § 29-2262.01 because he was an inmate in a correctional or penal facility and/or was on parole at the time he was used to acquire information from the defendant. At a hearing on this motion held on the following day, the court noted that it was presented with no evidence concerning the applicability of § 29-2262.01 to Purvis. Tyma's counsel stated that he would like to check on that issue and reserve the right to put forth evidence regarding his status. There was no further discussion of the motion at that hearing, and the record reflects no ruling on the motion. The issue of Purvis' testimony next arose on the first day of trial. The court acknowledged receipt of a motion in limine filed by defense counsel on the preceding day, but that motion does not appear in the transcript. The court permitted Tyma's counsel to offer evidence on the motion prior to the commencement of trial. Through the testimony of a Hall County corrections employee, it was established that Purvis was booked into the Hall County jail at 5:10 p.m. on December 15, 1999, and released on his own recognizance at 6 p.m. the same day. Defense counsel also elicited testimony from Williams, the investigating officer, with respect to the motion in limine. Williams testified that he first came into contact with Purvis at approximately 2 p.m. on December 15, after learning from Tyma's roommate that Purvis and Tyma were conspiring to kill Tim. Williams further testified that he went to Purvis' house to question him and that his first contact with Purvis lasted only 5 minutes. Williams stated that upon leaving Purvis' home, he was told by a police dispatcher that an outstanding warrant for Purvis' arrest existed because Purvis had failed to pay a fine. Williams testified that he then placed Purvis under arrest and that Purvis was transported to the Hall County Safety Center. Williams testified that he questioned Purvis at the police station for approximately 2 hours concerning his involvement in an alleged conspiracy with Tyma to kill Tim. Williams testified that he neither paid nor promised anything to Purvis in exchange for Purvis' statement. Williams told Purvis, however, that if he continued to cooperate, Williams would talk with the county attorney about obtaining Purvis' release on a recognizance bond and not filing charges against Purvis for possession of a weapon that was found in his home. Williams then testified that after he finished questioning Purvis, he booked him into jail and called the county attorney, who informed him that only a judge could order a recognizance bond but that she would forgo filing a weapons charge if Purvis continued to cooperate. Williams testified that he called a county judge and requested that Purvis be released on a recognizance bond, which subsequently occurred after Purvis had spent approximately an hour in jail. Williams further testified that after Purvis was released from jail, Purvis voluntarily came back to the police station, at which time Williams asked Purvis to wear a concealed recording device in an effort to record a conversation with Tyma. Williams stated that Purvis wore the device on two occasions and indicated that the first attempt failed to produce a recording but that the second attempt yielded a partial recording of a conversation between Purvis and Tyma. At the conclusion of this evidence, the district court took the motion in limine under advisement and commenced trial. The State called Purvis during its case in chief. The record reflects no ruling on the motion in limine prior to Purvis' testimony. On direct examination, Purvis testified that he met Tyma outside a bar 2 or 3 months before his December 1999 arrest. He testified that between September and December, he had conversations with Tyma in which she stated that she wanted Tim to be dead. Purvis identified a pistol that Tyma had given him and testified that she had given him money on several occasions because she wanted her husband dead. Purvis admitted having several conversations with Tyma about killing her husband and testified that Tyma had shown him photographs of Tim. Purvis identified several handwritten notes given to him by Tyma during this period. He admitted that during the period Tyma was giving him money and sex, he told her he would kill Tim, although he had no intention of doing so. Defense counsel did not object to any portion of Purvis' direct testimony on the basis of § 29-2262.01. On cross-examination, Purvis testified that he and Tyma had agreed that he would be paid $100,000 to kill Tim, but stated that he was interested only in continuing his sexual relationship with Tyma and had no intention of actually carrying out the murder. Purvis also confirmed that the State had agreed not to pursue certain criminal charges against him in exchange for his testimony. At the conclusion of Purvis' testimony, defense counsel stated that he was renewing the defense motion that Purvis' testimony be stricken pursuant to § 29-2262.01. The court overruled the motion, stating that it did not find the statute applicable. Assuming without deciding that the issue was raised in a timely and appropriate manner, we agree that § 29-2262.01 does not make Purvis' testimony inadmissible. In construing a statute, a court must determine and give effect to the purpose and intent of the Legislature as ascertained from the entire language of the statute considered in its plain, ordinary, and popular sense. State v. Portsche, 261 Neb. 160, 622 N.W.2d 582 (2001). The plain and ordinary meaning of the language of § 29-2262.01 prohibits those placed on probation by a court of this state and inmates who have been released on parole by any court from acting as undercover agents for, or employees of, law enforcement agencies. The exclusionary rule provided by § 29-2262.01 does not apply unless the informant is both (1) in jail, on probation, or on parole and (2) acting as an undercover agent or employee of a law enforcement agency. State v. McCormick and Hall, 246 Neb. 271, 518 N.W.2d 133 (1994), abrogated on other grounds, State v. Thomas, 262 Neb. 985, 637 N.W.2d 632 (2002). Purvis' trial testimony elicited by the State related exclusively to his contacts with Tyma during the months preceding his arrest and brief incarceration on December 15, 1999. The record contains no evidence that Purvis was an inmate, parolee, or probationer or that he was acting as an undercover agent or employee of a law enforcement agency during this time period. Although Purvis arguably served as an undercover agent when he subsequently agreed to wear a hidden recording device in order to record conversations with Tyma, the State did not offer any evidence obtained in this manner. We conclude that the district court correctly determined that § 29-2262.01 did not require the exclusion of Purvis' trial testimony.