State v. Oscar Muralles

Citations

• 154 A.3d 925
• 2017 WL 774605
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 27

Syllabus

The defendant, Oscar Muralles, appealed from a judgment of conviction after a jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation. On appeal, the defendant contended that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial because, in the defendant's view, (1) the trial justice overlooked and misconceived the evidence and (2) the verdict failed to truly respond to the evidence and failed to do substantial justice between the parties. Specifically, the defendant argued that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial due to what he characterized as a lack of credibility on the part of the complaining witness and another witness and inconsistencies in their testimonies. The Supreme Court held that the trial justice conducted the proper analysis in passing upon the defendant's motion for a new trial. The Court concluded that the trial justice did not overlook or misconceive any material evidence in his determinations. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment of conviction.