NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk/Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, Supreme Court Building, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release.
THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
___________________________
Sullivan
No. 98-299
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
v.
NICK MILLER
January 16, 2001
Philip T. McLaughlin, attorney general (Philip B. Bradley, attorney, on the brief, and Ann M. Rice, senior assistant attorney general, orally), for the State.
Risa Evans, assistant appellate defender, of Concord, by brief and orally, for the defendant.
BROCK, C.J. The defendant, Nick Miller, was convicted after a jury trial in Superior Court (Morrill, J.) of operating a motor vehicle after being certified as a habitual offender. See RSA 262:23 (1993). He appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss on the basis that his uncorroborated confession was insufficient evidence upon which to base his conviction. We affirm.
The following facts are supported by the evidence. In September 1997, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department received an anonymous tip that the defendant had illegally taken a moose near Keene. On September 19, United States Fish and Wildlife Service agents questioned the defendant about the allegation. During their conversation, the defendant admitted that he went to New Hampshire on September 16 to scout bear hunting areas. While there, he encountered some individuals who were looking for a moose that had been struck by a vehicle. The defendant helped them find the moose and took moose meat and the moose head back to Massachusetts. The agents told him that he faced various State and federal charges for these actions. During this conversation, the defendant insisted that he had traveled to New Hampshire alone.
After his conversation with the federal agents, the defendant spoke with New Hampshire Conservation Officer Claude Dumont at his Keene office. He told Officer Dumont the details of the incident, again insisting that he traveled to New Hampshire alone on September 16.
At trial, the defendant stipulated to his habitual offender status. Thus, the only issue was whether the defendant drove on September 16. See RSA 262:23. The State produced only one witness, Officer Dumont, who testified to the defendant's admission that he drove to New Hampshire on September 16.
At the close of the State's case, the defendant moved to dismiss, arguing that Officer Dumont's testimony of the defendant's uncorroborated confession was insufficient for a jury to convict. The trial court denied the motion.
In the defendant's case-in-chief, he testified that his girlfriend had driven him to New Hampshire on September 16, and that he had lied earlier when he stated that he had driven to New Hampshire alone because he did not want to implicate his girlfriend in criminal activity. The defendant's girlfriend corroborated his testimony. The jury convicted the defendant, and this appeal followed.
The defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he committed the charged offense because the State's only evidence was his uncorroborated admission to Officer Dumont. The defendant suggests that in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence we must limit our review to the evidence presented in the State's case-in-chief.
When determining the sufficiency of the evidence raised by a motion to dismiss at the close of the State's case, however, "[w]e review the entire trial record because, even though the defendant is not required to present a case, if he chooses to do so, he takes the chance that evidence presented in his case may assist in proving the State's case." State v. Pittera, 139 N.H. 257, 260, 651 A.2d 931, 933 (1994). Thus, we will consider the entire record in determining whether the defendant's confession was sufficiently corroborated.
An accused may not be convicted on the basis of an uncorroborated confession or admission alone. State v. George, 109 N.H. 531, 533, 257 A.2d 19, 20 (1969). Where a conviction rests solely upon the defendant's confession, there must exist "substantial independent evidence indicating that the admission of the defendant [is] true." State v. Hanley, 116 N.H. 235, 237, 356 A.2d 687, 688 (1976) (quotation omitted). The purpose of this rule is to prevent the conviction of an innocent individual by false confession, whatever the motive for the confession. State v. Zysk, 123 N.H. 481, 487, 465 A.2d 480, 483 (1983).
Jurisdictions differ, however, on the facts to which the corroborative evidence must relate. See 7 J. Wigmore, Evidence