Jeremy Motyka v. State of Rhode Island

Citations

• 172 A.3d 1203

Syllabus

The applicant, Jeremy Motyka, appealed from the December 3, 2014 denial of his application for postconviction relief following a hearing in Newport County Superior Court. One of the applicant's contentions on appeal was that he was not given an adequate opportunity to be heard by the hearing justice. The Supreme Court held that the December 3, 2014 hearing in the instant case did not constitute the evidentiary hearing called for in Tassone v. State, 42 A.3d 1277 (R.I. 2012). In addition, the Court held that its opinions in Tassone and Shatney v. State, 755 A.2d 130 (R.I. 2000), were inconsistent with each other at least in the context before the Court in the instant case. The Supreme Court proceeded to abrogate the procedure set forth in Shatney in any case involving an initial application for postconviction relief by an applicant who has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Accordingly, the Court vacated the Superior Court's denial of Mr. Motyka's application for postconviction relief.