Novkovic v. State

135 N.W. 465, 149 Wis. 665, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 182
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 3, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 135 N.W. 465 (Novkovic v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Novkovic v. State, 135 N.W. 465, 149 Wis. 665, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 182 (Wis. 1912).

Opinion

Baeetes, J.

The defendant moved for a separate trial, which motion was denied. At the close of the state’s evidence the defendant asked that the court instruct the jury that the statements made by Mravic before the chief of police and the coroner were binding on him only. This request was denied. The defendant later asked that the jury be instructed that the [670]*670confessions of Mravic were binding on him only, unless they were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Novhovic assented thereto, and that unless they were so satisfied they should dismiss the confessions from their minds as. to her and return a verdict of not guilty, unless they were satisfied by other evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that she was guilty. The court instructed the jury that the statements of Mravic were not binding on his codefendant and could not “be considered against her unless you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that said Ma/rie Novhovic assented to such statements actually or impliedly.”

The errors assigned and argued are that the court was wrong (1) in refusing to grant Mrs. Novhovic a separate trial; (2) in permitting the jury to consider the confessions, of Mravic as evidence against her; (3) in charging the jury; (4) in excluding competent evidence; (5) in not discharging the defendant Novhovic; and (6) in refusing a new trial, and in denying said defendant’s motion in arrest of judgment.

The reasons assigned for granting a separate trial to Mrs. Novhovic were set forth in an affidavit which she filed in support of the motion, and were two in number. First, because she desired to call her codefendant as a witness in her behalf;. and, second, because the confessions of Mravic which were competent evidence against him were not so as against her and would be highly prejudicial to her if permitted to go before the jury which tried her.

The right of two or more defendants jointly informed against to have separate trials is discussed in Emery v. State, 101 Wis. 627, 638, 78 N. W. 145. It is there said:

“Where persons are so circumstanced as to be properly triable together for a criminal offense, separate trials are not de-mandable as of right, except it be shown that a joint trial will so clearly be seriously prejudicial to one of the parties as to require a separate trial as to him to prevent injustice. The refusing or granting of such a motion is wholly within the dis[671]*671cretion of the trial court, and its exercise, as in other eases of the exercise of discretionary power, cannot be successfully questioned except for a plain abuse of it. That was the rule at common law, and though it has been changed in many jurisdictions by statute, it has not been changed in this state.”

In discussing the right of one defendant to have the benefit of the testimony of the wife of a codefendant, the court further said:

“It may well be said, when the testimony of the wife of one defendant is material and reasonably necessary to the defense of a codefendant, that a severance should be granted on motion of the person seeking to obtain the benefit of such testimony, and that a denial of it is the denial of a right, because a fair exercise of judicial discretion would result in granting it; but in the absence of a clear showing that the evidence of the wife in the circumstances stated is necessary and material to the defense of a codefendant, the motion for a severance may properly be denied.”

We do not think the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant a separate trial as to the defendant Novlcovic because of her claim that Mravic was a material witness in her behalf and that she desired to use his testimony. Mravic had made two confessions,' one of which was under oath, and in both of them he strongly implicated his codefendant. There was no showing that he had experienced a change of heart or that he would tell any different story, except a statement on information and belief made by Mrs. Novkovic in her affidavit. It was not shown that Mravic had ever made any statements different from those contained in his confessions or that he was willing to do so if called as a witness. As a matter of fact he declined to take the stand. Neither did the affidavit disclose the facts which plaintiff in error expected to prove by Mravic. All the court had before it was her mere conclusion, made on information and belief, that she could prove by Mravic that she was not guilty. We think the plaint[672]*672iff in error failed to make any sufficient showing that she was prejudiced by reason of being unable to use her codefendant as a witness.

The second point urged is that the confessions of Mravic, being competent testimony against him, were of such a nature as to be necessarily prejudicial to Mrs. Novlcovic, and that a separate trial should have been granted for this reason. If these confessions were proper to go before the jury in case she was tried separately, no prejudice could result from trying her jointly with her codefendant. The trial court refused ■to charge the jury that Mravic’s confessions were binding on him only and could not be considered in determining the guilt of his codefendant. This refusal is also assigned as error, and these two assignments will be considered together.

On behalf of the state it is contended that the confessions of Mravic were competent evidence against his codefendant on two grounds: Eirst, because the defendants were co-conspirators and the declarations of one were admissible against the other; and, second, because the defendant Novlcovic admitted the truth of the statements made by her codefendant, and in effect made his admissions hers.

It is clear that the first ground is not well taken. Wheie the design of a conspiracy is accomplished, no one of the conspirators by any act or declaration is permitted to affect the others engaged in it. Miller v. State, 139 Wis. 57, 88, 119 N. W. 850, and cases cited.

' The trial court evidently was of the opinion that there had been prima-facie proof that Mrs. Novlcovic had admitted the truth of Mravic’s confessions and thus made them her own. If this view was correct, such confessions were competent evidence against her.

We are unable to find any evidence in the record which shows that Mrs. Novlcovic admitted that the statement made by Mravic before the chief of police was true in its entirety. We think the evidence is to the contrary. If Mravic’s state[673]*673ment before tbe coroner was competent evidence against bis codefendant, sbe was not prejudiced by tbe admission of tbe first confession, because there was no material difference between tbe two. Tbe first confession went more into detail than tbe second, but tbe latter showed, if true, that tbe defendants bad been criminally intimate before and after tbe murder; that Mrs. Novkovic bad solicited her codefendant to kill her husband, and that on tbe night of tbe murder sbe suggested what sbe thought was tbe appropriate time for doing tbe act. These were tbe essential points covered by tbe first confession that tended to establish Mrs. Novkovic's guilt.

We have bad some difficulty in satisfying ourselves that tbe evidence was sufficient to show prima facie that Mrs. Nov-kovic admitted tbe truth of tbe confession of Mravic before tbe coroner.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cranmore v. State
271 N.W.2d 402 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1978)
Pollack v. State
253 N.W. 560 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1934)
State v. Meating
231 N.W. 263 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1930)
Koscak v. State
152 N.W. 181 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1915)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
135 N.W. 465, 149 Wis. 665, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 182, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/novkovic-v-state-wis-1912.