Opinion ID: 2100111
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 23

Heading: Joe McCarthy's Testimony

Text: At trial, the prosecution elicited testimony from McCarthy to the effect that it was Golle's idea to go to the Atkinson-Christensen house. Benzel asserted that the prosecution's sole purpose in eliciting this testimony was to later impeach McCarthy with Watson's testimony that McCarthy told Watson that it was Benzel's idea to go to the Atkinson-Christensen house. Benzel argued that this sequence amounted to prosecutorial misconduct. Similar to its determination with respect to counsel's purported failure to challenge the evidentiary ruling on Watson's testimony, the postconviction court determined that Benzel failed to show prejudice because the evidence against Benzel was so compelling that conviction would have resulted even without the testimony that it was Benzel's idea to go to the house.