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State v. Deverney4/15/1999
her admitted assaulting Antonich or were seen doing so, both admitted sitting in the front seat of Antonich's vehicle as they drove to the site of the murder, and both admitted attempting to wipe down Antonich's car for fingerprints in an effort to hide any evidence that would link them to the crime. We conclude DeVerney and Greenleaf acted in close concert with one another.
DeVerney also claims that he suffered substantial prejudice as a result of his trial being joined with Greenleaf's. First, he argues that the two defendants presented different, and conflicting, defenses. DeVerney's defense was that he was not guilty, while Greenleaf's defenses were that he was not guilty, that he was intoxicated, or that he was acting under duress. DeVerney and Greenleaf presented different defenses, but substantial prejudice is not simply whether the defenses presented were different, but whether the defenses were inconsistent, or whether the defendants sought, through their chosen defenses, to shift blame to one another. See Hathaway, 379 N.W.2d at 503.
The trial court held a pretrial hearing, during which it reviewed each defendant's statement to police, and concluded that, by joining the two defendants for trial, the jury would "not be forced to believe either the testimony of DeVerney or the testimony of Greenleaf. Instead, the jury will be faced with a choice between the State's theory or the theories expounded by both Defendants." It is clear from the evidence and the defenses presented by each defendant that neither sought to shift the blame to the other. Both defendants simply claimed that they did not intend to kill Antonich, or that they had an excuse for aiding and abetting his murder. Therefore, the fact that each defendant offered different defenses did not cause DeVerney to suffer substantial prejudice.
DeVerney also argues that evidence admissible only against Greenleaf prejudiced DeVerney because the jury could not consider such evidence only against one defendant. DeVerney's argument is essentially that he did not believe the jury could weigh the evidence against each defendant independently. The trial court stated, after listening "carefully to the questioning of each juror surrounding the issue of joinder during voir dire, * * * I'm satisfied that the jury will be able to separately decide the two cases without prejudice to either defendant." We have consistently "recognized the ability of juries in joint trial to separate evidence that inculpates only one defendant from evidence that inculpates both." Hathaway, 379 N.W.2d at 502. The jury was also instructed at the time the evidence was offered against Greenleaf, and again at the close of the case, to consider the evidence only against Greenleaf and not DeVerney. See State v. James, 520 N.W.2d 399, 405 (Minn. 1994) (holding that if the evidence and the instruction are neither complex nor confusing, it must be presumed that the jury understood and followed the court's instruction). The fact that some evidence admitted at trial was admissible only against Greenleaf did not cause DeVerney to suffer substantial prejudice.
DeVerney also contends that the trial court's effort to redact the co-defendants' statements - made necessary because of the joinder - was ineffective because the evidence still alluded to DeVerney's existence. In accordance with Minn. R. Crim. P. 17.03, subd. 3(2), the trial court properly redacted from each co-defendant's statements any reference to the other co-defendant. However, a police officer testified that Greenleaf stated he was with four other individuals on the night of Antonich's murder. The officer then named three of the four individuals, omitting only DeVerney's name. DeVerney claims
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