Court Opinion

ID: 9737566
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:28:55.29694+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:23:59.887208
License: Public Domain

*561Carter, J.,
dissenting.
On September 8, 1967, about 2:45 a.m., a Mrs. Mostek was awakened by the sound of breaking glass. She saw two boys in a nearby grocery store and called the police. One boy was apprehended in the store. The other boy ran from the scene. The police picked up the defendant while apparently running from the scene of the crime. I submit that these circumstances sustain a finding that defendant was a participant in the crime. A boy was seen running from the store and the police brought defendant back from the direction in which the boy was seen running, all of which occurred within a few minutes of 2:45 in the early morning. Even if defendant had been charged with a crime, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to sustain a finding of guilt by a jury.
The majority opinion relies upon the, rule that circumstantial evidence to be sufficient to sustain a verdict must be of such a nature and so related to each other that the conclusion reached is of such conclusive nature as to exclude to a moral certainty every rational hypothesis except that of guilt. This is a rule of circumstantial evidence going to the weight of the evidence that is applicable only to the jury. After a jury returns a finding of guilt, the only issue before this court is whether or not the, evidence was sufficient to sustain a finding of guilt.
In Hoffman v. State, 162 Neb. 806, 77 N. W. 2d 592, this court, in a criminal case based largely on circumstantial evidence, said: “Under this rule, in the first instance, it is a function of the jury to weigh the circumstantial evidence and to test it by the following rule found in Morgan v. State, supra, and repeated in Kitts v. State, supra: ‘The test by which to determine the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence in a criminal prosecution, is whether the facts and circumstances tending to connect the accused with the crime charged are of such conclusive nature as to exclude to a moral certainty every rational hypothesis except that of his guilt.’ *562* * * If the jury does so find, that finding may not, as a matter of law, be disturbed on review by this court if the evidence supporting the finding sustains some rational theory of guilt.” In State v. Ohler, 178 Neb. 596, 134 N. W. 2d 265, we said: “The jury considered the evidence, and concluded that it was sufficient to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and, in so doing found that the facts were consistent with each other and with his guilt, and that they were inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Under the facts and circumstances shown, the foregoing questions constituted issues of fact for the jury and not this court.”
In our most recent decision on this point, Spencer, J., speaking for the court, said: “Crimes such as murder are usually secretive, and it is the unusual case which occurs in the presence of witnesses. Consequently, there can always be some doubt as to whether a defendant should be convicted on circumstantial evidence. As we said in State v. Ohler, supra: ‘To justify a conviction on circumstantial evidence it is necessary that the facts and circumstances essential to the conclusion sought must be proved by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, and when taken together must be of such a character as to be, consistent with each other and with the hypothesis sought to be established thereby, and inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.’
“In State v. Ohler, supra, we restated what has long been the rule in this jurisdiction: ‘After a jury has considered the evidence in the light of the foregoing rules and returned a verdict of guilty, the verdict on appeal may not, as a matter of law, be set aside for insufficiency of the evidence if the evidence sustains some rational theory of guilt.’ ” State v. Williams, ante p. 257, 159 N. W. 2d 549.
But this is not a criminal case and there was no jury. The trier of the facts found that defendant was a participant in the crime. On appeal, the only question for determination is whether or not the evidence was *563sufficient to sustain the, trial court’s finding. I submit that it was.
Mrs. Mostek was awakened by the sound of breaking glass. She saw two boys in the Vey’s Foodland Grocery Store and called the police. One of the boys was apprehended by the police at the scene, of the crime. Mrs. Mostek saw one boy run south. The police picked up the defendant approximately one-half block from the store. He was running hard at the time although he had turned east. He was within one-half block of the store and within sight of the roof of the storé. The store was entered about 2:45 a.m., and defendant was picked up by the police within minutes of that time. While Mrs. Mostek was unable to identify the boys, defendant fitted the general description of one of the boys she saw in the store. No other boys were found in the neighborhood. That defendant was in flight is not questioned and his explanation that he was “out for a walk” at 2:45 in the morning in close proximity to a store that had! been recently burglarized is lacking in credibility under the circumstances. The police testified that they apprehended defendant about 2 minutes after receiving the call to go to Vey’s Foodland Grocery Store. I submit that the foregoing evidence, although circumstantial, was sufficient to sustain the finding of the trier of the facts that defendant was a participant in the robbery and, consequently, a delinquent. I fail to see how any impartial, reasonable man could fail to find the defendant a participant in the burglary under the foregoing circumstances.
I submit that this court is in error in testing the evidence by the rule applicable only to juries in weighing the evidence and in holding further that the evidence does not support a finding that defendant was a delinquent.
It is for these reasons that I respectfully dissent.
White, C. J., joins in this dissent.