Opinion ID: 2218649
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The trial court denied the Defendant a fair trial by allowing into evidence irrelevant uncharged crimes, wrongs or acts (Assignment #).

Text: In his sixth assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial court denied him a fair trial by admitting into evidence uncharged crimes, wrongs, or acts. Neb.Rev.Stat. ง 27-404(2) (Reissue 1985) provides: Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he or she acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. Defendant points out that we have held that the admission of irrelevant uncharged misconduct evidence is reversible error. State v. Moore, 221 Neb. 706, 380 N.W.2d 288 (1986); State v. Coca, 216 Neb. 76, 341 N.W.2d 606 (1983); State v. Stewart, 209 Neb. 719, 310 N.W.2d 706 (1981). Each of the cases referred to by defendant, however, concerns a defendant tried for crimes the defendant committed alone, and concerns other activities of that defendant. There was no issue in those cases as to the relationship between the named defendant and others, all of whom were engaged in committing the same crime, such as in this case. In this case, in order to present a true picture to the jury of the relative culpability of the five participants in the death of James Thimm, it was appropriate for the State to present evidence showing the relationship of defendant to the other participants. All the evidence presented by the State in the way of defendant's actions which consisted of uncharged crimes tended to show defendant's dominance over the group. Such dominance was shown by defendant's ordering others to engage in such sordid acts as homosexual and bestial conductโand in the fact that others followed such orders. See People v. Manson, 61 Cal.App.3d 102, 132 Cal.Rptr. 265 (1976). The State was relying on the testimony of persons engaged in the same actions charged against defendant. Necessarily, the testimony of such criminals was indispensable to the State's case. Testimony before the jury showed that those witnesses were permitted to plead to crimes lesser than murder in the first degree, and the jury was entitled to know of the relative involvement of all involved in this terrible crime. As set out in State v. Riley, 199 Mont. 413, 426, 649 P.2d 1273, 1280 (1982): We hold that the jury is entitled to view the death of James Gill in the context of prior events and that the beatings inflicted by the other people in the community were not isolated events, but part of a continuous series of beatings inflicted by appellant and others over a period of months. To properly understand the events that took place before James Gill's death, the jury was entitled to consider all of these factors of child abuse prior to the boy's death. It was also proper for the State to show defendant's dominance of the Rulo group in order to present evidence to the jury with regard to the testimony of the accomplice witnesses. As stated in U.S. v. Scarfo, 850 F.2d 1015, 1020 (3d Cir.1988), The other crimes history was relevant to the government's case. If accepted by the jury, the testimony was also damaging to defendant. That impact, however, does not require exclusion here where the evidence was essential in the government's effort to establish the credibility of its disreputable, yet indispensable, witnesses. Evidence of relevant uncharged misconduct may be admissible, and the admission of evidence of uncharged crimes lies largely within the discretion of the trial court. State v. Baker, 218 Neb. 207, 352 N.W.2d 894 (1984); State v. Ellis, 208 Neb. 379, 303 N.W.2d 741 (1981). In State v. Hitt, 207 Neb. 746, 749, 301 N.W.2d 96, 99 (1981), we held: [E]vidence of other criminal acts which involve or explain the circumstances of the crime charged, or are integral parts of an overall occurrence ... may be admissible. It is competent for the prosecution to put in evidence all relevant facts and circumstances which tend to establish any of the constituent elements of the crime with which the accused is charged, even though such facts and circumstances may prove or tend to prove that the defendant committed other crimes. See, also, State v. Williams, 205 Neb. 56, 287 N.W.2d 18 (1979); State v. Nielsen, 203 Neb. 847, 280 N.W.2d 904 (1979). In the present case, five individuals took part in the acts resulting in the death of James Thimm. The State was entitled to produce evidence which would show that the defendant was the leader of those who took part in Thimm's murder. Evidence that the defendant's control over the group included the ability to order sexual assaults, bestiality, and the abuse of a child was probative in that it showed the defendant's absolute power over the group. This evidence was probative of the defendant's overall motive, intent, and plan in his Rulo operation, and demonstrated the circumstances that led to the torture death of Thimm. The responsibility for maintaining the delicate balance between the probative and prejudicial effect of evidence lies largely within the discretion of the trial court. State v. Williams, supra . There is a further reason the evidence of uncharged crimes was admissible. Defendant had entered a plea of not responsible by reason of insanity. Both for the benefit of the State and the defendant, the jury was entitled to know the circumstances leading up to the murder of Thimm. Without the background of those circumstances, the actual torture death of Thimm would be incomprehensible to a jury hearing just that evidence. The overall relationship among defendant, his accomplices in the murder, and the victim is essential to the understanding of the case by the jury. The U.S. Supreme Court has set out the requirements for the admissibility of evidence under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b), the equivalent of Neb.Evid.R. 404(2). The Supreme Court stated there were four guidelines for admissibility under that rule: (1) The evidence must have a proper purpose; (2) the evidence must be relevant; (3) the probative value of the evidence must outweigh its potential for unfair prejudice; and (4) the court must instruct the jury to consider the evidence only for the purpose for which it was admitted. Huddleston v. U.S., 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988). In this case each of those criteria has been met. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence of other crimes committed by, or participated in by, defendant.