Opinion ID: 495278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Lager's Credibility

Text: 86 Kragness and Caspersen contend that there was insufficient evidence against them on the RICO counts and the drug conspiracies for which they were convicted because the government's case rested in large measure upon the testimony of Richard Lager, testimony which they term obviously incredible. They also note that there were inconsistencies in Lager's testimony. Kragness and Caspersen observe that Lager was an accomplice and coconspirator who testified under a grant of immunity, and that Lager admitted that he perjured himself before the grand jury that investigated this case. Finally, they note that Lager suffered a head injury in the early 1970s that caused memory loss and an inability to concentrate. 87 [Q]uestions as to the credibility of witnesses and as to the weight to be given their testimony are for the jury and not for the reviewing court. United States v. Wilkerson, 691 F.2d 425, 427 (8th Cir.1982) (citations omitted). Here, our review of Lager's testimony and of the rest of the record persuades us that Lager's testimony was not so incredible or insubstantial that no reasonable juror would have credited it. 88 While [t]he testimony of an accomplice is not per se unreliable, United States v. Evans, 697 F.2d 240, 245 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1086, 103 S.Ct. 1779, 76 L.Ed.2d 350 (1983), and a conviction may be upheld based solely upon such evidence, United States v. Anderson, 654 F.2d 1264, 1268 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1127 102 S.Ct. 978, 71 L.Ed.2d 115 (1981), here, Lager's testimony was corroborated in numerous respects by a variety of documentary and testimonial evidence. The inconsistencies adverted to by the defendants generally concern particular dates upon which events occurred; in the context of Lager's entire testimony, and given that he testified long after the events in question, these were not such major flaws that his testimony was unbelievable. As for Lager's perjury before the grand jury, it consisted principally of efforts by Lager to avoid implicating his friends and coconspirators, particularly Kragness; indeed, at one point Lager was jailed for contempt because he refused to testify against his coconspirators. Finally, and most importantly, the defendants were able to and did bring these and other matters reflecting upon Lager's credibility before the jury; while they might have led the jury to find Lager not credible, they do not make his testimony so legally infirm or insubstantial as to establish reasonable doubt as a matter of law. See Evans, 697 F.2d at 245; Williams v. United States, 328 F.2d 256, 259 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 969, 84 S.Ct. 1651, 12 L.Ed.2d 739 (1964).