State v. Ricardo Franco

Syllabus

The defendant, Ricardo Franco, appealed from a judgment of conviction for three counts of first-degree child molestation sexual assault, in violation of G.L. 1956 §§ 11-37-8.1 and 11 37-8.2. The defendant argued that the trial justice erred in failing to grant a mistrial or to strike the complaining witness's unexpected testimony and that the trial justice compounded the error by instructing the jury to disregard a portion of the complaining witness's testimony. The defendant additionally argued that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial. The Supreme Court held that the defendant had waived his argument regarding the denial of his motion for a mistrial and the partial denial of his motion to strike because he failed to object in any way to the trial justice's ruling. Next, the Supreme Court held that the defendant had waived his contention that the trial justice compounded the error by instructing the jury to disregard a portion of the complaining witness's testimony because defense counsel never objected to the instruction. Finally, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice did not overlook or misconceive material evidence, and was not otherwise clearly wrong, when he denied the defendant's motion for a new trial. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.