Opinion ID: 1936045
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Mistrial of Co-defendant Immaterial to Conviction of Walls

Text: Walls and Hernandez were charged jointly in a ten-count indictment. Nine of the ten counts named both Walls and Hernandez. [11] One of the counts (terroristic threatening) named only Walls. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty as charged against Walls on all counts, but with respect to Hernandez was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any of the charges. The Superior Court declared a mistrial as to Hernandez. Walls first contention is that the State's failure to convict Hernandez amounts to an error of law which requires the reversal of his convictions. That contention is premised upon the fact that in nine of the ten counts of the indictment charging Walls, the State alleged that both he and Hernandez committed the particular crimes. Thus, Walls argues that Hernandez's guilt was a material element in establishing Walls' guilt and that the State needed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that both he and Hernandez committed each of the crimes charged. The United States Supreme Court has held that the due process clause of the United States Constitution requires the prosecution to prove every element of the crime with which a defendant is charged beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 363, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). If the prosecution fails to sustain that burden on any element of the crime, the defendant must be acquitted of that charge. Id. at 364, 90 S.Ct. at 1072. However, within our federal constitutional scheme of government, each state has the authority to define, by statute, the elements of each offense that will constitute criminal conduct within its jurisdiction. See Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 201-02, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 2322-23, 53 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977). [12] The first issue which is raised by Walls requires an analysis of what effect, if any, a joint indictment has on the foregoing principles. The joinder of defendants in one or more counts of an indictment is permissible if, as here, they are alleged to have participated in the same act or transactions ... constituting an offense or offenses. Super.Ct.Crim.R. 8(b). Nevertheless, each of the counts in a joint indictment operates as a separate, individual count against each named co-defendant. State v. Mastriacchio, 71 R.I. 72, 42 A.2d 496, 498 (1945). See also J. Moore, 8 Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 8.06 (2d ed. 1989). Thus, to convict Walls of the charges set forth in a joint indictment, the State's burden was the same as it would have been if Walls had been indicted individually, i.e., proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the statutory elements of each crime with which Walls was charged. Cf. Harley v. State, Del. Supr., 534 A.2d 255, 257 (1987). The due process clause of the federal Constitution does not require the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of facts which do not bear on the defendant's guilt. See McMillan v. Pennsylvania, 477 U.S. 79, 84-85, 106 S.Ct. 2411, 2415-2416, 91 L.Ed.2d 67 (1986). We find that the joint indictment filed against Hernandez and Walls did not make Hernandez's guilt a material element of any of the crimes for which Walls was convicted at their joint trial. Walls argues alternatively that, even if Hernandez's guilt was not a material element to each charge in the joint indictment, his robbery and conspiracy convictions were inconsistent with the jury's failure to convict Hernandez on those same charges. The issue of verdict inconsistency has been recently addressed by this Court in the context of whether a jury's verdict directed to separate counts of the indictment [against a single individual] must be consistent with each other. Tilden v. State, Del.Supr., 513 A.2d 1302, 1306 (1986). In Tilden, this Court held the rule of jury lenity finds proper application in cases of verdict inconsistency in this State and `a criminal defendant is afforded protection against jury irrationality or error by [an] independent review of the sufficiency of the evidence' to sustain each, individual conviction rather than on the logical consistency of the overall verdict. Id. at 1307 (quoting United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 67, 105 S.Ct. 471, 477, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984)). The United States Supreme Court has held that a defendant does not have a right to a reversal of his convictions ipso facto because a co-defendant in a joint trial was acquitted. Harris v. Rivera, 454 U.S. 339, 348, 102 S.Ct. 460, 465, 70 L.Ed.2d 530 (1981). Therefore, we conclude that the same approach which we approved in Tilden is also proper when the alleged inconsistency in a jury verdict is due to a mistrial for one or more co-defendants, who are jointly indicted and tried with the person who was convicted. See State v. Hamrick, 688 S.W.2d 477, 481 (Tenn.Crim.App. 1985) (verdicts as between two or more defendants tried together in a criminal case need not demonstrate rational consistency.). [T]he relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime[s] [of which Walls was convicted] beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560, reh'g denied, 444 U.S. 890, 100 S.Ct. 195, 62 L.Ed. 2d 126 (1979); see also Davis v. State, Del.Supr., 453 A.2d 802, 803 (1982). In anticipation of this legal conclusion, Walls' arguments in this Court specifically challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions on two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy. As to the robbery counts, Walls contends that since it is alleged that Hernandez displayed what appeared to be a deadly weapon, to wit: a handgun, the failure to convict Hernandez precludes his conviction on these counts. With regard to the conspiracy charge, Walls argues that since the indictment alleged that he and Efrain Hernandez... did agree with each other to commit the crime of Robbery in the First Degree, the failure to convict Hernandez necessarily means the State failed to prove all of the material elements of the charge against him. In support of his argument, Walls relies upon this Court's decision in Johnson v. State, Del.Supr., 409 A.2d 1043 (1979). The Johnson case involved a defendant who was charged with burglary and conspiracy. This Court reversed the conviction for conspiracy because the jury had not found the defendant guilty of the overt act alleged in the conspiracy charge, i.e., burglary. Id. at 1044. This Court refused to sustain the conspiracy charge on the ground that the overt act may have been committed by an unnamed co-conspirator, since no such allegation was set forth in the indictment. Id. We find Walls' case to be distinguishable from Johnson. The State presented evidence to the jury that Walls and someone else, alleged to be Hernandez, committed the criminal activity set forth in nine counts of the indictment. Unlike Johnson, the issue at Walls' trial was the identity of two perpetrators. In court, the Pancoasts identified Walls and Hernandez as their assailants. The jury, as the sole trier of fact, was entitled to give to this identification testimony as much or as little weight as they found it to be worthy. Tyre v. State, Del. Supr., 412 A.2d 326, 330 (1980). Unfortunately for Walls, the jury gave great weight to the Pancoasts' identifications of him and less weight to their identifications of Hernandez. In a joint trial, the guilt or innocence of each defendant must be considered individually. Williams v. State, 176 Ga.App. 503, 336 S.E.2d 367, 369 (1985). Viewed in its entirety and including all reasonable inferences, the evidence sufficiently warranted a jury determination that Walls was with someone who held a handgun during the robbery [13] and that Walls conspired with that  someone  [14] to commit the robbery. The allegation in the indictment that this someone was Efrain Hernandez does not negate the sufficiency of the evidence to support Walls' convictions of Robbery and Conspiracy. See State v. Cole, Del.Ct.Gen. Sess., 114 A. 201, 205 (1921). [15] Cf. Commonwealth v. Byrd, 490 Pa. 544, 417 A.2d 173, 176-79 (1980). The Pancoasts' in-court identifications of Walls, considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution, provided a rational basis to support the jury's verdict that Walls was guilty of robbery, conspiracy and all of the other crimes with which he was charged. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. at 2789. Walls' final argument concerning Hernandez's mistrial is that the acquittal of (or failure to convict) one or more defendants named in a joint indictment creates a variance between indictment and proof. Cf. Harley v. State, Del.Supr., 534 A.2d 255 (1987). However, we find that it is generally recognized that [a] variance between an indictment charging an offense involving several persons and proof establishing the guilt of only some of them is not material. 41 Am.Jur.2d Indictments and Informations § 270, at 1045 (1968). This general rule has application in Walls' case, for the reasons we have already stated. The exact identity of the co-participant in the crimes at the Pancoasts' home was not an essential element of the charges against Walls. The joint indictment gave Walls fair notice of the charges against him and that he was alleged to have engaged in that criminal activity with another person. Cf. Harley v. State, 534 A.2d at 257. [16]