State v. Xavier Vidot

Syllabus

The defendant, Xavier Vidot, was convicted by a jury of one count of second degree murder and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, thereby causing death. He was sentenced to twenty-four years' imprisonment for the second degree-murder conviction and a consecutive life sentence for the discharge-of-a-firearm conviction. On review, the defendant contended that the trial justice erred by (1) failing to declare a mistrial and (2) denying the defendant's motion for a new trial. First, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice did not err in failing to grant a mistrial, as the defendant argued, because the grounds for a mistrial that the defendant raised on review were never articulated before the trial justice and, thus, the defendant's appellate arguments on this issue were deemed waived. Next, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice had articulated adequate grounds for denying the defendant's motion for a new trial and did not overlook or misconceive material evidence. Therefore, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice had properly denied the defendant's motion for a new trial. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction.