State v. Carlos Rivera

Syllabus

A jury in Providence County Superior Court found Carlos Rivera guilty of one count of first-degree child molestation sexual assault and two counts of second-degree child molestation sexual assault. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial justice erred in excluding on evidentiary grounds the testimony of a particular witness concerning certain statements allegedly made by defendant's daughter regarding the results of and a certain person's feelings about a federal immigration proceeding in Boston. After carefully reviewing the transcript of what took place in the Superior Court in light of the pertinent provisions of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision of the trial justice to exclude evidence was not an abuse of discretion. The Court therefore affirmed the defendant's conviction.