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State v. Adam11/26/2001
full play to the right of the fact finder to determine credibility, weigh the evidence, and draw justifiable inferences of fact." State v. Yabusaki, 58 Haw. 404, 411, 570 P.2d 844, 848 (1977) (citations omitted).
"Both the grant and the denial of a motion for new trial is within the trial court's discretion, and we will not reverse that decision absent a clear abuse of discretion." Kawamata Farms v. United Agri Products, 86 Hawaii 214, 251, 948 P.2d 1055, 1092 (1997) (quoting State v. United States Steel Corp., 82 Hawaii 32, 54, 919 P.2d 294, 316 (1996) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)). "A . . . court abuses its discretion whenever it exceeds the bounds of reason or disregards rules or principles of law or practice to the substantial detriment of a party." Abastillas v. Kekona, 87 Hawaii 446, 449, 958 P.2d 1136, 1139 (1998) (quoting Kawamata Farms, 86 Hawaii at 241, 948 P.2d at 1082 (citation omitted)).
Adam argues that his motion for a new trial and his motion for judgment of acquittal should have been granted because the circuit court erred in its rulings and the evidence was insufficient to justify a rational trier of fact in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In his motion for judgment of acquittal, Adam argued that the State's evidence was not credible and therefore failed to support the guilty verdicts of the jury. Specifically, he argued that the lava rock picked up by Aki, which allegedly struck Wentworth's back, failed to have any physical evidence of striking a human. The rock was bereft of any human fibers or blood despite the large abrasion on Wentworth's back. Adam further added that the appearance of the opihi bag went against Wentworth's contention that he lost his balance and fell into the water after blocking the second rock. If the opihi bag had been submerged into the salt water, then the bag would have laid flat after drying in the sun. However, he stated the bag in the photographs appeared to be fluffy when, if following Wentworth's facts, the bag should have been flat. Furthermore, Adam had an expert introduce the possibility that the abrasions on Wentworth's back started in an upward direction instead of downward as a thrown rock would have left.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, and in full recognition of the province of the trier of fact, we conclude that a reasonable mind might fairly conclude guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, we affirm the denial of the motion for judgment of acquittal.
In his motion for a new trial, Adam argued that the court erroneously denied his three motions in limine which, if granted, would have provided enough evidence to acquit him or justify his actions. Furthermore, he again argued sufficient evidence did not exist to convict him. Upon a review of the record, we reaffirm our decision above.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court's April 27, 2000 Judgment convicting Defendant-Appellant Richard Louis Adam of (1) Assault in the Second Degree, HRS § 707-711(1)(d), and (2) Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree, HRS §§ 707-715(1) and 707-716(1)(d) (1993).
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