State v. Harris

589 N.W.2d 239, 1999 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32, 1999 WL 74151
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 17, 1999
Docket96-2296
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 589 N.W.2d 239 (State v. Harris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Harris, 589 N.W.2d 239, 1999 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32, 1999 WL 74151 (iowa 1999).

Opinions

CARTER, Justice.

The appellant, John Lee Harris, was convicted of first-degree murder following a jury trial. He has assigned several grounds for reversal. The court of appeals affirmed his conviction. So do we.

The evidence viewed most favorably toward the State discloses the following facts. The victim of the shooting was Monty Williams. His cousin, Tony Williams, had threatened a thirteen-year-old boy named Scooter Palmer with harm. The boy had friends, including DeMarco Walker, Eric McCuller, Nelson Jones, Kenneth Hayes, and defendant. This group planned to retaliate against Tony Williams for his threats against Scooter. They, along with Scooter, went in Hayes’ car to Scooter’s house where defendant took possession of a .22 caliber handgun belonging to him. At this point, defendant told the group that “Tony was going to get dealt with.” The group proceeded on in [241]*241Hayes’ ear and stopped at another house where MeCuller retrieved a .380 caliber handgun.

While cruising around in Hayes’ car looking for Tony Williams, the group encountered the victim, Monty Williams. They inquired through the ear window concerning Tony’s whereabouts. Monty told the group that Tony was at home. Hayes then drove away, but defendant asked him to return to the location where Monty was standing because defendant did not believe that Monty could be trusted. Hayes then turned the car around and returned to the area where Monty was still standing in the street. Defendant exited the car and shot Monty to death. Apparently, the group never did locate Tony Williams, who was a witness for the State at defendant’s trial.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Hayes pleaded guilty to going armed with intent. At defendant’s trial, Hayes, Walker, and Palmer all testified that defendant had killed Monty Williams. The State conceded that, based on his .guilty plea, Hayes was an accomplice as a matter of law. The State disputed defendant’s contention that Walker and Palmer were accomplices to the murder of Monty Williams. Defendant was convicted by a general verdict of guilty. Other facts and circumstances that are significant in deciding the appeal will be considered in our discussion of the legal issues that have been presented.

Defendant’s arguments for reversal relate to the following: (1) the district court’s refusal to instruct the jury that Walker and Palmer were accomplices as a matter of law; (2) the court’s refusal to submit special interrogatories to the jury concerning the status of Walker and Palmer as accomplices; (3) allowing evidence concerning a photograph showing defendant in the possession of several firearms; (4) not suppressing an uncoun-seled statement taken from defendant, who was a juvenile, prior to the time that either of his parents had been contacted; .and (5) sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction. We consider each of these contentions.

I. Whether the Trial Court Should Have Instructed the Jury That Walker and Palmer Were Accomplices as a Matter of Law.

Defendant argues that the positive participation of State witnesses Palmer and Walker, in obtaining weapons and planning the shooting of Tony Williams, establishes that they were accomplices as a matter of law in the shooting of Monty Williams. His request that the court so instruct the jury was denied.

In order for a witness to be considered an accomplice, the evidence must establish that the witness’s conduct was sufficient that that person could be charged with and convicted of the specific offense for which the accused was on trial. State v. McDaniel, 512 N.W.2d 305, 308 (Iowa 1994); State v. Berney, 378 N.W.2d 915, 917 (Iowa 1985); State v. Johnson, 318 N.W.2d 417, 440 (Iowa 1982). Only if the facts are not disputed and not susceptible of different inferences may the question of whether a witness is an accomplice be determined as a matter of law. McDaniel, 512 N.W.2d at 308. If the facts are susceptible to different inferences, the question is one of fact for the jury. Id.

There was no evidence that either Walker or Palmer in any way assisted or encouraged defendant in the shooting of Monty Williams. If the facts were resolved in a particular manner, the evidence relating to Walker’s and Palmer’s encouragement of harm to Tony Williams could render them criminally liable for the harm to Monty Williams based on Iowa Code section 703.2 (1995), our joint criminal conduct statute. We are unable to conclude^ however, that the criminality of these witnesses was established on this theory as a matter of law. Among other things that would have to be established for a finding that Walker and Palmer were accomplices on a theory of joint criminal conduct, was that the crime of killing Monty was in some manner in furtherance of the offense that Walker and Palmer were bent on committing, i.e., the harming of Tony. See State v. Hohle, 510 N.W.2d 847, 848 (Iowa 1994). That is an issue on which the jurors might have disagreed based on the evidence presented. The district court cor[242]*242rectly refused to instruct the jury that Walker and Palmer were accomplices as a matter of law.

II. Whether the Trial Court Erred in Not Submitting Defendant’s Requested Interrogatories Inquiring as to Whether Walker and Palmer Were Accomplices.

At trial defendant requested that the trial court submit interrogatories to the jury inquiring whether Walker and Palmer were accomplices. The court denied this request, indicating that the answers to those questions would inhere in the verdict. Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(2) provides:

[The jury] must also return with the general verdict answers to special interrogatories submitted by the court upon its own motion, or at the request of the defendant in prosecutions where the defense is an affirmative one, or it is claimed any witness is an accomplice, or there has been a failure to corroborate where corroboration is required.

Defendant contends that this rule mandates that a trial court submit interrogatories to the jury if the conditions of the rule are met, ie., if there is an issue of whether certain persons are accomplices and whether corroboration of their testimony is required. The State claims that rule 21(2) only requires that, if the conditions of the rule are met, the jurors must answer those interrogatories that the court elects to submit. It urges that whether an interrogatory will be submitted is a matter within the trial court’s discretion. We agree with the State’s interpretation. There is no language in the rule mandating the submission of interrogatories in all instances in which the conditions described in the rule exist.

We are also convinced that defendant is unable to establish any prejudice based on the court’s failure to submit the requested interrogatories. The jury was properly instructed concerning the requirement in Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 20(3) that guilt may not be based on the testimony of an accomplice unless there is other evidence corroborating the accused’s participation in the crime charged. It was further instructed that the testimony of one accomplice is not sufficient to corroborate the testimony of other accomplices.

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State v. Harris
589 N.W.2d 239 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
589 N.W.2d 239, 1999 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32, 1999 WL 74151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harris-iowa-1999.