State v. Joseph Ogoffa

Citations

• 159 A.3d 1043
• 2017 WL 2125835
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 58

Syllabus

The defendant, Joseph Ogoffa, sought review (by means of a petition for a writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted) of his January 9, 2014 conviction in Providence County Superior Court on five counts of first-degree child molestation. The defendant contended that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial. He further posited that his \constitutional right to present a full and fair defense\ was denied because the trial justice \unfairly limit[ed] his cross-examination of two witnesses.\ The Supreme Court held that the trial justice did not commit clear error or overlook or misconceive material and relevant evidence in denying the defendant's motion for a new trial. The Court further held that the trial justice did not infringe upon the defendant's constitutional right to present a complete defense when he rather minimally limited the cross-examination of two of the state's witnesses. Accordingly, the Supreme Court quashed the writ of certiorari and affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.