State v. John Rainey

Citations

• 175 A.3d 1169

Syllabus

The defendant, John Rainey, appeals his conviction of two counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation. The defendant primarily argued that the trial justice erred in allowing, under Rule 404(b) of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence, testimony from the defendant's biological daughter as to an unconvicted assault he allegedly committed against her. Moreover, the defendant argued that, even if the evidence was admissible under Rule 404(b), it was inadmissible under Rule 403 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence. In addition, the defendant asserted that the state's late disclosure of the Rule 404(b) witness's testimony constituted a violation of Rule 16 of the Superior Court Rules of Criminal Procedure and that the trial justice's remedy of delaying the witness's testimony for three days so that defense counsel could prepare for it constituted an abuse of discretion. Lastly, the defendant alleged the trial justice erred in denying both his motion for new trial and motion for judgment of acquittal. The Court held that the trial justice did not abuse his discretion in allowing the Rule 404(b) testimony, nor did he do so in determining that the evidence was permissible under Rule 403. The Court similarly held that, while the state did violate Rule 16 in its late disclosure of the Rule 404(b) witness's testimony, the trial justice's remedy of requiring the state to wait three days before calling the witness was not an abuse of discretion. Finally, the Court upheld the trial justice's decision denying the defendant's motion for new trial and motion for judgment of acquittal. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment.