Opinion ID: 2616816
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admissibility of the Conversation Between Jerry Carnes and Robert Pokey Jurgenson

Text: (1a) Defendant first contends that the trial court prejudicially erred in allowing Jerry Carnes to relate the conversation he had with Jurgenson outside defendant's house three days after the homicide. He argues that the statements were hearsay (Evid. Code, § 1200), were not made during or in furtherance of any conspiracy and, therefore, were erroneously admitted under the coconspirators exception to the hearsay rule (Evid. Code, § 1223). [7] The People concede that the statements were hearsay but maintain that they were properly admitted under the coconspirators exception because they were made during the conspiracy, several weeks before defendant was paid. They argue that since payment to defendant of an agreed sum was one of the objectives of the conspiracy and since it had not yet been attained at the time of the conversation between Carnes and Jurgenson the latter's statements were made during the criminal enterprise. Defendant's position is untenable. (2) It has long been the law in this state that a conspirator's statements are admissible against his coconspirator only when made during the conspiracy and in furtherance thereof. (Evid. Code, § 1223 [former Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1848, 1870, subd. 6]; People v. Irwin (1888) 77 Cal. 494, 504 [20 P. 56]; People v. Aleck (1882) 61 Cal. 137, 138-139; People v. Moore (1872) 45 Cal. 19, 21; People v. Pool (1865) 27 Cal. 572, 576.) (3) The conspiracy usually comes to an end when the substantive crime for which the coconspirators are being tried is either attained or defeated. (See, e.g., People v. Aleck, supra, 61 Cal. 137, 138-139; see also People v. Oldham (1896) 111 Cal. 648, 652-653 [44 P. 312]; People v. Dilwood (1892) 94 Cal. 89, 91 [29 P. 420]; People v. Gonzales (1887) 71 Cal. 569, 575 [12 P. 783].) It is for the trier of fact  considering the unique circumstances and the nature and purpose of the conspiracy of each case  to determine precisely when the conspiracy has ended. ( People v. Smith (1966) 63 Cal.2d 779, 794 [48 Cal. Rptr. 382, 409 P.2d 222]; People v. Holmes (1897) 118 Cal. 444, 459 [50 P. 675].) Particular circumstances may well disclose a situation where the conspiracy will be deemed to have extended beyond the substantive crime to activities contemplated and undertaken by the conspirators in pursuance of the objectives of the conspiracy. (See, e.g., People v. Collier (1931) 111 Cal. App. 215, 237 [295 P. 898]; People v. Lorraine (1928) 90 Cal. App. 317, 327 [265 P. 893]; but see Krulewitch v. United States (1949) 336 U.S. 440 [93 L.Ed. 790, 69 S.Ct. 716] (action taken for the mere purpose of concealing the conspiracy or the substantive crime deemed not to extend the conspiracy to that point in time).) (1b) Clearly the money offered by Murphy for killing his wife motivated defendant and Jerry Carnes to participate in the plan, and the transfer of the money was one of its main objectives as far as defendant and Carnes were concerned. Since payment to either defendant or Carnes had not yet occurred by the time of the conversation between Carnes and Jurgenson only three days after the murder, Jurgenson's statements to Carnes were admissible as being made during the conspiracy. [8] Citing People v. Luker (1965) 63 Cal.2d 464 [47 Cal. Rptr. 209, 407 P.2d 9] defendant argues that since the conspiracy was discovered when Jerry Carnes was arrested, any hearsay admissions made by him must be excluded against his fellow conspirators. He reasons that such statements would not have been made in furtherance of the conspiracy but, rather, in frustration of it. We have been presented with no admissions by Carnes which defendant seeks to exclude and any statements made by Carnes at trial concerning his participation in the scheme are clearly not hearsay (Evid. Code, § 1200).