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State v. Otero1/24/2002
h the requisite procedure and articulated an adequate rationale for denying a motion for a new trial, that decision will be given great weight and will not be disturbed unless the trial justice 'overlooked or misconceived material evidence relating to a critical issue or if the justice was otherwise clearly wrong.'" State v. Bleau, 668 A.2d 642, 646 (R.I. 1995) (quoting Banach, 648 A.2d at 1367).
In the instant case, the record revealed that the trial justice performed the requisite review carefully and completely and that he adequately articulated his reasons for denying defendant's motion. To start, the trial justice reviewed the testimony and physical evidence presented in the case and independently assessed the credibility of the witnesses. Next, he considered the evidence in light of the jury instructions that included instructions on first-and second-degree murder, diminished capacity, and self-defense, and he reached an independent conclusion about defendant's guilt:
"The Court agrees with the jury verdict, having weighed and sifted the evidence in the manner similar to that of the jury, finding that the State's witnesses were indeed credible, that the sequence of events that they testified to were very much more probable than the scenario propounded by the defense, and the Court finds as a fact and believes as a matter of law that the jury did come to the correct conclusion based on the substantial circumstantial and substantive direct evidence in this case. The Court has no quarrel with the jury verdict."
Because the trial justice agreed with the jury verdict, he could have terminated the analysis at that point and denied defendant's motion for a new trial. However, he went on to find that "this is a case upon which reasonable minds can differ," given that "there was evidence on the record which the jury could have considered which may have led to an acquittal or at least a second degree finding by the jury, but they chose not to believe that theory." The trial justice then denied the new-trial motion:
"So, the Court, in not substituting its opinion for that of the jurors but having made the analysis required by law, believes that the jury verdict was sound on the law and facts, that they followed the instructions that were given by the Court and review of the Court's instructions, indicated to the trial judge in this matter that the instructions were adequate and conformed to the law with regard to the charge before the Court at which the defendant was presented, and the Court is going to respectfully deny the motion for new trial on those grounds."
Having concluded that the trial justice performed the appropriate review in considering defendant's motion, we next consider whether the trial justice overlooked or misconceived material evidence or otherwise was clearly wrong. Bleau, 668 A.2d at 646. The defendant argued on appeal that "the facts presented by the testimony in this case were not sufficiently conclusive on certain key issues," namely, (1) whether defendant brought the gun to the bar, and (2) whether defendant was the aggressor. With respect to the first issue, defendant pointed out that none of the state's witnesses testified to having seen a gun in defendant's hand, and moreover, no fingerprints were found on the gun, bullets, or shell casings. In essence, defendant argued that the lack of direct evidence on the issue of whether defendant brought the gun to the bar was fatal to the prosecution's case. The defendant's argument has ignored the well-settled rule in this jurisdiction that " n attempting to establish defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the state may rely entirely upon circumstantial evidence, as long as the totalit
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