Court Opinion

ID: 9707800
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:21:33.366217+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:41:56.898885
License: Public Domain

concurring in part, and in part dissenting.
I concur with the majority’s disposition of assignments of error Nos. 2 through 5. However, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s disposition of assignments of error Nos. 1 and 6.
With respect to assignment of error No. 1, I do not think that the trial court’s pretrial explanation of the reasonable doubt standard lowered the State’s burden to prove McHenry guilty. The comments to which the majority objects were made to the panel of prospective jurors before the jury was selected and before commencement of the trial. When I read the comments in their entirety, it is my opinion that the court was telling the prospective jurors that they could not convict McHenry unless they were convinced of his guilt. The court emphasized the burden of proof that the State must meet in order to obtain a conviction and explained that proof beyond a reasonable doubt required proof so compelling as to convince the prospective jurors of the truth of the fact to the extent that they would be willing to act upon such belief without reservation in an important matter in their own business or personal affairs.
The court noted that
[t]he burden is very heavy upon the [S]tate. Some people say the scales of justice have to tip almost to the bottom. Some people put it in a numerical relationship, “It’s got to be 99 out of 100.” I don’t know what the answer is. Each jury decides that based upon the evidence and the instructions.
The jury was later selected from the panel of prospective jurors, and the trial commenced.
At the conclusion of the evidentiary phase of the trial, the court gave the following reasonable doubt instruction to the jurors:
The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges contained in the information. This presumption remains with the defendant throughout the trial and is not overcome unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.
The fact that the State of Nebraska has charged the defendant in an information is not evidence, and the State has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond *178a reasonable doubt. This burden remains on the State throughout the trial. The defendant is not required to prove his innocence. The State is not to prove guilt beyond all possible doubt or to a mathematical certainty. Nor is the State required to negate every conceivable circumstance of innocence.
A reasonable doubt is a doubt formed upon reason. It is not a fanciful doubt, a whimsical doubt or capricious doubt. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt requires proof so compelling as to convince you of the truth of a fact to the extent that you would be willing to act upon such belief without reservation in an important matter in your own business or personal affairs. However, if you are not satisfied of the defendant’s guilt to that extent, then reasonable doubt exists[,] and the defendant must be found not guilty.
As the majority notes, the actual jury instruction met the due process requirements. All the instructions given must be read together, and if, taken as a whole, they correctly state the law, are not misleading, and adequately cover issues supported by the pleadings and the evidence, there is no prejudicial error necessitating a reversal. State v. Gatson, 244 Neb. 231, 505 N.W.2d 696 (1993). As I read the instructions given at the conclusion of the evidence, I find that they correctly state the law, are not misleading, and adequately cover issues supported by the pleadings and the evidence, and I do not find any prejudicial error which would necessitate a reversal.
As to assignment of error No. 6, regarding alleged misconduct by the prosecutor, I find that McHenry has not shown that a substantial miscarriage of justice actually occurred. See State v. Valdez, 239 Neb. 453, 476 N.W.2d 814 (1991). On cross-examination, one of the State’s witnesses was questioned regarding whether that witness was receiving any special treatment in exchange for his testimony in McHenry’s trial. Defense counsel asked, “You’ve gotten this case continued several times, haven’t you?” The witness responded, “It’s been continued for three years, yes. ” In response to this remark, the prosecutor interjected, “That’s not true.” The jury was excused, and the prosecutor was admonished for improperly *179commenting on the evidence. The jury was not instructed to disregard the comment.
It is obvious that the witness was not referring to the case involving McHenry, because the crimes for which McHenry was charged took place in July 1992 and the trial commenced in September 1993. The witness was referring to a matter pending in the State of Kansas, and the county attorney in Lincoln County, Nebraska, would have nothing to do with the 3-year continuance of a matter pending in Kansas. Although the prosecutor’s comment was improper, I cannot say that a substantial miscarriage of justice actually occurred.
For the reasons set forth herein, I would affirm the judgment of conviction.