Opinion ID: 1246518
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Issues Argued. We briefly consider other issues argued which may arise again on retrial.

Text: A. Validity of Search Warrant. Defendant urges that any consent which she gave to law enforcement officers to search her apartment was involuntary for the same reasons that her oral statements of June 13 were involuntary. We agree with this contention but the search in question was carried out under authority of a warrant. Our examination of the sworn application for that warrant convinces us that the magistrate was presented with evidence which established probable cause for the issuance of the warrant independently of any information which was elicited from statements of the defendant. The trial court was correct in not invalidating the warrant. B. Theory-of-the-Case Instruction. Defendant contends that the trial court should have given her proffered theory-of-the-case instruction. That instruction would have advised the jury with respect to the elements of one or more crimes involving concealment of evidence or obstruction of justice of which defendant might have been guilty. To the extent that a court is permitted or required to instruct that a given set of facts precludes a finding of guilt as to the crime charged, that set of facts must indeed be incompatible with one or more essential elements of that crime. E.g. People v. Knott, 59 Mich.App. 105, 111, 228 N.W.2d 838, 842 (1975). Nothing in the proposed instruction would have negated the possibility that defendant was also guilty of the crime of murder. As such the instruction was not a theory of defense and was properly rejected. C. Refusal to Require In Camera Inspection of State's Investigatory File During Trial. Defendant made a general request for exculpatory material during trial which she believed had not been contained in prior information produced on discovery as directed and affirmed in a prior appeal of this case. See State v. Kase, 339 N.W.2d 157, 159-60 (Iowa 1983). She requested that the trial court conduct an in camera inspection of the State's investigatory files to assure compliance with this request. Nothing called to the trial court's attention at that time or to our attention at this time supports the granting of that request for inspection by the court. This determination on our part is without prejudice to further particularized requests by defendant for production of exculpatory information. For the reasons stated in division I of this opinion the judgment and sentence are reversed and the case remanded for a new trial. REVERSED AND REMANDED.