Court Opinion

ID: 9855369
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:23:32.926719+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:56.054098
License: Public Domain

WUEST, Justice
(dissenting).
I dissent.
*846In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, our review is limited to determining whether there is evidence in the record which, if believed, will sustain a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Hanson, 456 N.W.2d 135, 139 (S.D.1990). See also Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). Here, admittedly, there was no evidence in the record to review, and to that extent, the majority has misstated the issue posed by Lee. The question is not whether there was sufficient evidence in the record to uphold his conviction, for that presupposes the existence of evidence and no evidence was admitted in this proceeding; rather, the issue is whether there was any evidence in the record upon which to convict him — and there was not. See Thompson v. City of Louisville, 362 U.S. 199, 80 S.Ct. 624, 4 L.Ed.2d 654 (1960). The police reports were not entered into evidence.
Article IV, section 2 of the South Dakota Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution provide that no person • shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law. Where there is no evidence in the record to support a conviction, it is void because it does not comport with due process of law. Thompson, 362 U.S. at 204, 80 S.Ct. at 628. We, here, confront a circumstance similar to People v. Wiater, 19 A.D.2d 692, 241 N.Y.S.2d 464 (1963):
No one was sworn, no evidence was taken, but after a discussion, largely between the Court and appellant’s counsel, during which counsel made no admissions, in a very abrupt and cavalier manner the Court decided that appellant was guilty and pronounced ... sentence.
The Wiater court found such a proceeding “defied every concept of due process,” id. 241 N.Y.S.2d at 465, and I believe the proceedings in the instant case do likewise. I would reverse.