Opinion ID: 2218649
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Fundamental fairness demanded the testimony of co-defendants be excluded (Assignment # 14).

Text: In this assignment of error, defendant does not complain of any specific action of the trial court, but states, By allowing co-defendants to testify who admittedly had continually lied and guessed under oath, the Court decreased the reliability of the trial so as to violate the Defendant's Due Process rights and subjected him to Cruel and Unusual Punishment. The conduct of the court complained of in this assignment apparently was the trial court's failure to exclude the testimony of John Andreas, James Haverkamp, Timothy Haverkamp, and Ora Richard Stice. Brief for appellant at 52. The testimony of Stice will not be considered in this regard, since he was not a codefendant, nor was he an accomplice in the actual murder of James Thimm. With regard to the testimony of the others named, while they were all accomplices in the murder of Thimm, none of those named were actually codefendants during the trial of defendant and Dennis Ryan. The case filed against Timothy Haverkamp was consolidated at one time with defendant's case, but Timothy Haverkamp pled guilty to second degree murder before defendant's trial and appeared in the trial as a witness for the State. Andreas and James Haverkamp pled guilty to other charges before defendant's trial. The testimony of these witnesses will be discussed as the testimony of accomplices. This court has long held that an accomplice is competent to testify and that the value of such testimony is for the jury. State v. Sneff, 22 Neb. 481, 35 N.W. 219 (1887). We have held that a criminal conviction may be based upon the uncorroborated statements of an accomplice. State v. Burchett, 224 Neb. 444, 399 N.W.2d 258 (1986); State v. Huffman, 222 Neb. 512, 385 N.W.2d 85 (1986). The jury was given the following instruction: The State has adduced testimony from claimed accomplices. Their testimony should be closely scrutinized for any possible motives for falsification, and if you find that any of them has testified falsely in regard to any material matter, you should be hesitant to convict upon his testimony without corroboration, and in no case should you convict a defendant unless you are satisfied of his guilt from all the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant contends that James Haverkamp admitted to one lie after another, to guessing instead of telling the truth and to fabricating testimony to protect himself and others. Brief for appellant at 57. Where the jury has been properly instructed that testimony of an accomplice should be scrutinized closely for possible motives of falsification, the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice who has given false testimony concerning a material matter may be sufficient to sustain a conviction. State v. Smith, 219 Neb. 176, 361 N.W.2d 532 (1985). In the cause before us, the evidence in the record, including defendant's own testimony, shows that the evidence of defendant's guilt was overwhelming. The trial court properly instructed the jury, and the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's finding. The testimony of Andreas, James Haverkamp, and Timothy Haverkamp was properly before the jury, and it was for the jury to decide what weight to attach to their testimony. Defendant's assignment of error No. 14 is without merit.