State v. Ellingson
| Decision Date | 11 April 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 41237,41237 |
| Citation | 167 N.W.2d 55,283 Minn. 208 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Rodney ELLINGSON, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. It is enough to satisfy the requirements as to identification if a witness testifies that it is his belief, opinion, and judgment that the defendant is the man he saw commit the crime charged.
2. The believability and persuasive force of the identification testimony in the instant case, as well as the defense evidence generally, were for the jury. Applying well-settled rules to the evidence herein, we are not persuaded that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the jury's determination of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, even though the testimony of eyewitnesses C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, Robert E. Oliphant, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
may at times bespeak the possibility of error.
Douglas M. Head, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, George M. Scott, County Atty., Leonard D. Brod, Asst. County Atty., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard before KNUTSON, C.J., and NELSON, MURPHY, OTIS, and FRANK T. GALLAGHER, JJ.
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction for the crime of aggravated robbery after a trial by jury.
The principal assignment of error is that there was insufficient evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant, Rodney Ellingson, was guilty of aggravated robbery.
In appears from the record that on May 16, 1967, at about 11:55 a.m., Arnold Shapiro was working in the Falls Hardware Store in Minneapolis when a man he later identified as the defendant came in from the left front door and asked for an electric drill. After showing defendant the drill and replacing it on the shelf, Shapiro turned around and faced defendant again, only to see him open his jacket and brandish a gun. Defendant instructed Shapiro to get all the money out of the register and put it in a paper bag. Shapiro testified that he was standing 3 feet from and directly facing the defendant for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Defendant then ordered Shapiro to lie on the floor and ran out the same door he had entered. After defendant left, Shapiro leaped to his feet, grabbed a newspaper and pencil, ran out the other entrance, and hurriedly marked down the license number and make of vehicle in which defendant was making his getaway. The license number, 5CL--942, was given to Minneapolis police. The description of the car, a 1959 Chevrolet, was subsequently verified from a car identification manual. Thereafter, Minneapolis detectives showed Shapiro a book of 'mug' photographs and after viewing approximately 25 to 50 of them he identified defendant's.
On June 1, 1967, the detectives, armed with information that the robber was Rodney Ellingson, a man known to them, and that he had been seen leaving the robbery site in a 1959 Chevrolet with a purported license number of 5CL--942, noticed a 1959 Chevrolet matching the description of the suspect's vehicle and bearing license number 5DL--942. The officers recognized defendant as they drove up alongside the vehicle and immediately perfected his arrest. On the same day, Shapiro unhesitatingly identified defendant at a lineup consisting of four white men.
1. There is abundant authority in Minnesota supporting the proposition that it is enough to satisfy the requirements as to identification if a witness testifies that it is his belief, opinion, and judgment that the defendant is the man he saw commit the crime charged. State v. Farmer, 179 Minn. 516, 229 N.W. 789; State v. Perra, 266 Minn. 545, 125 N.W.2d 44.
2. Uncertainty in identification testimony affects its weight rather than its admissibility and is strictly a consideration for the jury. State v. Sutton, 272 Minn. 399, 138 N.W.2d 46. This court's clear enunciation of the doctrine of identification evidence in the Sutton case disposes of defendant's claim. This court said (272 Minn. 402, 138 N.W.2d 48):
Defendant argues that Shapiro's original description to the police was weak and faulty because it did not include any identifying marks or scars such as were clearly visible on defendant's forehead. Defendant wore a hunter's cap with a bill on it, and while the record is silent, it may readily be assumed that the cap was pulled over his eyes. Defendant also argues that the presence of the cap would have made it impossible for Shapiro to have described the color of the robber's hair. Nothing in the record indicates...
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State v. Merrill
...and disbelieved any contradictory evidence. State v. Darrow, 287 Minn. 230, 235, 177 N.W.2d 778, 781 (1970); State v. Ellingson, 283 Minn. 208, 211, 167 N.W.2d 55, 57 (1969); State v. Thompson, 273 Minn. 1, 36, 139 N.W.2d 490, 515, certiorari denied, 385 U.S. 817, 87 S.Ct. 39, 17 L.Ed.2d 56......
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State v. Turnipseed, 50229.
...and disbelieved any contradictory evidence. State v. Darrow, 287 Minn. 230, 235, 177 N.W.2d 778, 781 (1970); State v. Ellingson, 283 Minn. 208, 211, 167 N.W.2d 55, 57 (1969); State v. Thompson, 273 Minn. 1, 36, 139 N.W.2d 490, 515, certiorari denied, 385 U.S. 817, 87 S.Ct. 39, 17 L.Ed.2d 56......
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State v. Duncan
...standard of review for determining sufficiency of the evidence for a jury verdict was stated by this court in State v. Ellingson, 283 Minn. 208, 211, 167 N.W.2d 55, 57 (1969): 'It will be noted that in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence we do not try the facts anew. Our responsibilit......