Opinion ID: 2010520
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Principal or Accomplice Alternative Theories Permitted

Text: Banther and Schmitz each accused the other of hitting Ravers with an axe. Banther argues that the State could not present both the testimony of Schmitz and the prior statements by Banther to advance inconsistent, alternative theories of Banther's criminal liability for Ravers' death as either a principal or an accomplice. Banther submits that the State had to either elect a theory of Banther's liability as an accomplice, based on Banther's prior statements and the other evidence presented at the first two trials; or, as a principal, based on Schmitz's testimony at the third trial. In Charbonneau v. State , this Court addressed the issue of inconsistent statements by two co-defendants who each asserted that the other inflicted the fatal blows. [32] In Charbonneau, we held that the trial judge abused his discretion by endorsing as fact the State's unilaterally held view that one witness's version of the facts, purportedly offered truthfully in support of a plea agreement accepted by the State, was credible, while another witness's version, similarly accepted by the State as truthful, was not. [33] We further held that the trial judge abused his discretion in making certain evidentiary rulings by removing from the jury the issue of who spoke truthfully. [34] Banther admits that the central issue at his third trial was the choice the jury was asked to make with respect to who struck the fatal blowsBanther or Schmitz. Banther also acknowledges there was not a more important aspect of this case than who to believe, because both Schmitz and Banther told mirror image stories accusing the other of the murder. Each, however, also had credibility problems. Banther told multiple stories about the circumstances of the homicide and Schmitz admitted that he had previously lied about his involvement to investigators, his military superiors, his family, his lawyers, his psychiatrist, and while under oath. The record includes an exchange between the State and the trial judge in connection with the defense's motion to dismiss the indictment against Banther, presented months before the trial. The State acknowledged the inconsistency between Banther's statements and Schmitz's pretrial statement, and also candidly admitted that it did not know for sure who hit Ravers with the axe. The Court: Hypothetically speaking, if the State is not permitted to prove an agreement and can't establish which of the two co-defendants committed the offense, how does the State persuade the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that one did it rather than the other? The State: [W]ell, we don't know which one did it. We know that they were both at the scene and that it ended up that it was an intentional murder. I mean, obviously, the State can't take a position as to which one did it. ... [W]e don't know for sure which defendant struck Mr. Ravers with the axe. Although the State did not know with certainty who hit Ravers with the axe, the State consistently asserted that after either Banther or Schmitz wounded Ravers, both were involved with his death. It is well established that a defendant who is indicted as a principal can be convicted as an accomplice and vice versa, if the evidence presented at trial supports the alternative basis for criminal liability. [35] Moreover, in vicarious criminal liability prosecutions, involving one incident and two people, it is unnecessary for the State to establish which of the participants in the crime actually wielded the murder weapon. [36] As long as it can be established that one of the participants struck the fatal blow or fired the fatal shot and that the participants were engaged in a joint criminal endeavor, there is a sufficient evidentiary basis to impose criminal liability upon all of the participants. [37] When multiple individuals are charged with involvement in the same criminal activity, they frequently blame one another and give inconsistent accounts of their own actions and each other's conduct. Accordingly, in Banther's case, the trial judge's charge to the jury included the following two standard instructions: You are the sole judge of the credibility of each witness (including the defendant) and of the weight to be given to the testimony of each. You should take into consideration each witness' means of knowledge; strength of memory and opportunity for observation; the reasonableness or unreasonableness of his/her testimony; the consistency of inconsistency of his/her testimony; the motives actuating him/her; the fact, if it is a fact, that his/her testimony has been contradicted; his/her bias, prejudice, or interest, if any; his/her manner or demeanor upon the witness stand; and all other facts and circumstances shown by the evidence which affect the credibility of his/her testimony.    If you find the testimony to be conflicting by reason of inconsistencies, it is your duty to reconcile it, if reasonably possible, so as to make one harmonious story of it all. But, if you cannot do this, then it is your duty and privilege to give credit to that portion of the testimony which, in your judgment, is most worthy of credit and disregard any portion of the testimony which, in your judgment, is unworthy of credit. In so doing, you should take into consideration the demeanor of the witnesses as they testified before you, their apparent fairness in giving their testimony, their opportunities for learning and knowing the facts about which they testified, and any bias or interest that they may have concerning the outcome of this case. If the jurors believed Schmitz' testimony, Banther hit Ravers with an axe and was guilty as a principal. Assuming that the jury did not believe Schmitz's testimony at the 2008 trial, and that the jury concluded from Banther's statements that Schmitz was the principal who hit Ravers with the axe, there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have concluded that Bather was Schmitz's accomplice. The jurors, however, were not required to decide which defendant was the principal and which was the accomplice, [38] as long as they were satisfied that Banther and Schmitz acted together to kill Ravers and that one of them was the principal and one of them was the accomplice. [39] In the prosecutions of Adam Norcross and Ralph Swan, for example, the State never was able to establish which of the two home invaders actually fired the fatal shot, but, because evidence established the joint activity of both defendants, that question did not have to be definitively resolved by the jury in order to convict each defendant in his separate trial for the murder. [40] In Swan, this Court stated: Swan and Norcross were engaged in the same enterprise, at the same time and cannot escape liability simply because the State cannot prove which defendant inflicted the fatal wound. The jury need not unanimously decide whether Swan fired the fatal shot where both theories of liability required the jury to determine that Swan participated in the robbery and was one of the assailants that fired a weapon. [41] Accordingly, we hold that the State was entitled to present the prior statements by Banther and the testimony of Schmitz to support its theory that either Banther or Schmitz was the principal and that Banther and Schmitz worked together to complete Ravers' murder after that crime started. [42]