Court Opinion

ID: 9618893
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:18:38.429643+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:32.982010
License: Public Domain

Gunderson, J.,
concurring:
I agree the judgment and sentence should be affirmed; for it appears, from the entire transcript, that even had a medical examination shown Boley to be thoroughly under the influence of narcotics when he testified, the evidence of appellant’s guilt would nonetheless have been overwhelming. Thus, it appears to me that any error by the trial court, in refusing to grant appellant’s motion for a medical examination of witness Boley, may be deemed harmless.
The testimony of two police officers, Patrick Stevens and Michael Mouliot, establishes that at about 6:30 p.m. on the night in question, Mr. and Mrs. Boley were at the Las Vegas Police Department. At that time, neither Boley appeared “high.” The officers observed as Boley dialed appellant’s phone number, and asked for “Anthony.” Listening on an extension phone, Officer Stevens heard appellant Anthony Fox, whose voice he recognized, come on the line and agree to meet the Boleys with narcotics at the filling station at “F” and Bonanza streets. Officer Mouliot went through Boley’s pockets to ascertain that he was not in possession of narcotics; then, the officers followed the Boleys to the place where Fox had agreed to meet them. Watching through binoculars, the officers observed appellant arrive as agreed, go into the men’s room with Mr. and Mrs. Boley, and remain there for sufficient time to “fix” them. When the Boleys emerged, the officers kept them under surveillance, and back at the police station, Boley removed narcotics from one of his pockets, which Officer Mouliot had searched before the meeting with appellant. Then, Boley appeared to be “high” on drugs.
I have grave reservations about language in certain decisions of this court, which might be taken to suggest that uncorroborated testimony of an addict-informer like Verne Boley, however depraved and however self-interested, is sufficient evidence upon which to incarcerate other men for substantial portions of their lives. Cf. Tellis v. State, 84 Nev. 587, 445 P.2d 938 (1968); cf. Lujan v. State, 85 Nev. 16, 449 P.2d 244 (1969). I suggest there are situations in which the testimony of people *573like Boley, alone, does not constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Cf. People v. Bazemore, 182 N.E.2d 649 (Ill. 1962). However, the instant case was not “one which developed in such a way that the informer was at liberty to name almost any person he wished to select as the guilty one.” Id., at 651. On the contrary, the instant case shows that respectable police work can provide corroborative evidence, rendering it unnecessary to hazard the danger of convictions grounded solely on the testimony of addict-informers.
Here, while the controls imposed to obtain corroboration of the Boleys’ testimony may not have been ideal, they resulted in such proof of appellant’s guilt that the jury was required to rely only minimally on the Boleys’ testimony. It is impossible to see how a medical examination of Verne Boley would have altered the outcome of the case.