State v. Reichel
| Decision Date | 14 March 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 37098,37098 |
| Parties | STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Henry REICHEL, Appellant. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. The trial court has a broad discretion in ruling upon a discovery motion in a criminal case.
2. Such a motion should be granted where required by the interests of justice, but the burden is on the defendant to show why the motion should be granted.
William A. Wieland, Lincoln, for appellant.
Clarence A. H. Meyer, Atty. Gen., Calvin E. Robinson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lincoln, for appellee.
Heard before WHITE, C.J., and CARTER, SPENCER, BOSLAUGH, SMITH, McCOWN, and NEWTON, JJ.
The defendant, Henry Reichel, was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. The judgment was affirmed by this court in State v. Riley, 182 Neb. 300, 154 N.W.2d 741.
The defendant then filed a motion under the Post Conviction Act alleging that the denial of his pretrial discovery motion had violated his constitutional right to a fair trial. This issue was not raised in the prior appeal. State v. Riley, Supra.
The trial court ordered that cause be shown why the relief prayed for should not be granted. The State filed a return stating that the motion failed to allege grounds upon which relief could be granted. The trial court found that the defendant was not entitled to post conviction relief and overruled the motion without a hearing. The defendant has appealed.
The defendant was charged with breaking and entering a building where a smelter was operated. The smelter produced large quantities of dust and there was a heavy layer of black dust on the window sill of one of the windows broken in the burglary. When the defendant was apprehended in the vicinity of the premises soon after the burglary there was 'a lot of black dirt or dust' all over his clothing.
The purpose of the pretrial discovery motion was to allow the defendant to inspect and copy a chemical analysis laboratory report which the State had obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The report concerned an analysis of dirt samples taken from the premises where the burglary occurred and dirt samples taken from the clothing of the defendant.
The trial court has a broad discretion in ruling upon a discovery motion in a criminal case. State v. Novak, 181 Neb. 90, 147 N.W.2d 156. Such a motion should be granted where required by the interests of justice. Cramer v. State, 145 Neb. 88, 15 N.W.2d 323. The burden is on the defendant to show why the motion should be granted. Linder v. State, 156 Neb. 504, 56 N.W.2d 734. See Annotation, 7 A.L.R.3d 8.
The report referred to in the defendant's motion was not produced at the trial and no expert testified concerning the tests made or the results of the tests. However, the defendant called the deputy county attorney as a witness and proved that some of the defendant's clothing and samples of dirt from the premises had...
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Riley v. Sigler, 20483.
...Petitioner's co-defendant Reichel made the same contention before the Nebraska Supreme Court and was rejected (State v. Reichel, 184 Neb. 194, 165 N.W.2d 743 (1969)) and also in a federal habeas corpus proceeding heard by Judge Van Pelt with like result. While petitioner's case does not con......
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State v. Reichel, 37874
...was overruled by the district court without an evidentiary hearing and that action was affirmed by this court. See State v. Reichel, 184 Neb. 194, 165 N.W.2d 743 (1969). The present post conviction proceeding based on the right to counsel issue was commenced June 23, 1970. The defendant con......
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State v. Davis, 37290
...in ruling upon a discovery motion, but that such a motion should be granted where required by the interests of justice. State v. Reichel, 184 Neb. 194, 165 N.W.2d 743. We have been slow to reverse where discovery has been denied. See State v. Williams, 183 Neb. 257, 159 N.W.2d The scientifi......
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