29 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Witnesses"'.
J. Cavanagh finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder for personally discharging a firearm that killed a woman and severely injured a man. The court reasonably allowed two detectives to offer lay opinion testimony identifying defendant was the shooter from the surveillance video. While there is no evidence showing the perpetrator disguised himself, defendant wore a Covid mask during some portions of the trial, and he may have changed his hairstyle from the style worn in the video. Further, the detectives had in-person contact with defendant in weeks prior to the shooting that made it more likely for them to clearly identify him as the person shown in the surveillance footage. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Cavanagh, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: 230501, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
J. Pagan finds the trial court properly declined to acquit defendant for witness tampering. Evidence was “sufficient to find that defendant was attempting to induce a witness to disobey a legal obligation to testify.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Pagan, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: A177990, Categories: evidence, witnesses
J. Kistler finds the trial court erred by declining to acquit defendant of witness tampering and conspiracy. “No reasonable juror could infer from those text messages that defendant was asking [his son] either to give false sworn testimony in an official proceeding or to unlawfully withhold sworn testimony in an official proceeding.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Kistler, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: A178060, Categories: evidence, Conspiracy, witnesses
J. Moore affirms the defendant's second-degree murder conviction, finding that while the district court abused its discretion in admitting evidence that a witness received threatening phone calls from an unknown caller, the defendant has not demonstrated that there was a reasonable possibility that this evidence significantly impacted the verdict. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: A22-0316, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
The instant court finds the lower court properly denied defendant’s motion for post-conviction relief. Defendant argues they are entitled to post-conviction relief on grounds that there is new evidence to be considered, as a witness is recanting their original testimony. The instant court finds an evidentiary hearing is necessary to consider the defendant’s claim of newly discovered evidence. Reversed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 2023-0134, Categories: evidence, witnesses
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J. Barrett finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. After receiving an anonymous tip, officers discovered the victim's decomposing body inside a vacant building. Witness' interviews implicated defendant and an accomplice. The accomplice agreed to testify in exchange for a plea agreement, saying defendant told him he was going to kill the victim for being a snitch. Multiple witnesses saw defendant with a handgun on the day of the murder, saying he was seeking ammunition, while the accomplice said defendant shot the victim in the chest and twice in the face. The accomplice's testimony was sufficiently corroborated. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: CR-23-661, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
J. Pritzker finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of weapon possession after a gun was fired during a fight outside a restaurant because evidence supported the verdict, including testimony from a restaurant employee who restrained defendant until police arrived after seeing him on the ground with a gun in his waistband, and eyewitness accounts contending that someone snatched the gun and fired it before walking away. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Pritzker, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 113391, Categories: evidence, Weapons, witnesses
J. Stras finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for witness tampering and for possessing a firearm as a felon. The defendant, who pistol-whipped his girlfriend and harassed her, argued that he is not a felon and that the lower court erred in denying his motion for acquittal. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that he was a felon in possession of a firearm and made several calls from jail to his girlfriend, warning her to lie during testimony. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 23-1179, Categories: evidence, Firearms, witnesses
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in denying a writ of attachment sought by defendant, who wished to compel a subpoenaed witness to testify in court after defendant was charged with assault and other crimes. That witness, who provided incriminating evidence against defendant during a police investigation, was also heard on bodycam using a racial slur to refer to defendant, who argued the court should have forced her to testify in person so that “the jury could observe her demeanor and judge her credibility when questioned about her racist statement” under the theory that her perception of events could have been tainted by racial bias. But the witness was not the only person to offer incriminating evidence against defendant, and her virtual testimony nonetheless showed that she “lied in court and used the racial slur.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00091-CR, Categories: evidence, Due Process, witnesses
J. Gallagher finds defendant's criminal mischief conviction was supported by sufficient evidence, including testimony he was involved in a heated argument with his supervisor before his termination on the night the office building was "trashed" by an unknown individual. Meanwhile, the trial court properly limited defendant's cross-examination of his supervisor because the EEOC complaint mentioned by his attorney was filed after he was charged with criminal mischief and, therefore, was irrelevant. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4790, Categories: evidence, Trespass, witnesses
J. McKenna finds the district court properly convicted defendant of driving under the influence and properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress after a police officer stopped him for making an illegal U-turn at an intersection. The lack of a sign expressly prohibiting U-turns there did not preempt other laws and ordinances governing lawful turns. The officer therefore had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant, allowing the officer to later discover he was intoxicated. Affirmed.
Court: Hawai'i Supreme Court, Judge: McKenna, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: SCWC-21-530, Categories: evidence, Dui, witnesses
J. Readler finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to exclude testimony from the arresting officer about his experience in identifying firearms. The testimony was highly relevant to the case and whether the gun found by the officer inside the home was the same as the one he saw on defendant's hip when he began his pursuit. Furthermore, defendant's conviction for attempted witness tampering was supported by sufficient evidence, including his jail phone call to a friend that included instructions to attempt to pay the owners of the home in which defendant hid the weapon, which was a substantial step toward the completion of the tampering. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Readler, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 22-2129, Categories: evidence, Firearms, witnesses
J. Gravois finds that defendant was properly convicted of manslaughter for the death of another inmate. Defendant was not allowed to elicit testimony from an inmate witness regarding other investigations because those investigations were not relevant to the matter. Defendant was allowed to cross-examine the witness regarding his convictions, his statement regarding the instant case, and the details of his plea agreement. Further, evidence of defendant's past crimes was properly admitted because, in both crimes, defendant punched the victims in the face hard enough to break their jaws, showing a pattern. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Gravois, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 23-KA-128, Categories: evidence, Manslaughter, witnesses
J. Wendlandt vacates the defendant's convictions for first-degree murder, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon after he allegedly killed a man in a drive-by shooting where he shot the man 11 times, and shot but did not kill the man's associate. There were no witnesses to the shooting who were able to identify defendant and the judge denied his request to conduct a voir dire examination of a witness who claimed to have seen him in a bluish-silver Nissan sedan near the crime scene 20-30 minutes before the shooting. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Wendlandt, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: SJC-12984, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
J. Emfinger finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder for his role in the shooting death of a man. Defendant received a 20-year sentence for the conspiracy conviction and life imprisonment for murder to run concurrently. Defendant argues the lower court erroneously allowed phone records and testimony of an officer explaining the use of those records in tracking the location of defendant’s cell phone, but the instant court finds no error in the lower court's handling of the matter. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Emfinger, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 2022-KA-00709-COA, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
J. Bates finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder, robbery and tampering with a motor vehicle. The court did not err by excluding testimony in an offer of proof from a law enforcement witness or by declining to permit defense counsel to show a surveillance vide of the crime during voir dire. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bates, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: SD37522, Categories: evidence, Murder, witnesses
J. Pfeiffer finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of unlawful use of a weapon and criminal action. The court reasonably admitted evidence of various acts of domestic abuse between him and his wife, because one of these incidents prompted the police search of his home which found the guns and ammunition. Further, the court reasonably restricted defendant's privileges to write letters and phone calls after he attempted to convince the victim not to testify at his trial. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Pfeiffer, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: WD84845, Categories: evidence, Firearms, witnesses
J. Pritzker finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape. Defendant contends he had consensual sex with the victim, but witnesses testified the victim had been drinking heavily and fell asleep in a bar booth before leaving with defendant, and that friends discovered her naked and asleep at defendant's house after tracking her down. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Pritzker, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 112168, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, witnesses
J. Sheehan finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant for two counts of gross sexual imposition of a minor. The trial court improperly allowed the victim's mother to submit hearsay evidence in the form of the conversations between her and her sister about the accused, as that contains character evidence. Also, the victim's mother's opinion that her daughter is telling the truth cannot be used as evidence to vouch for the daughter's credibility. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 111935, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, witnesses
J. Stephens finds that defendant was properly convicted of manslaughter. The victim's girlfriend identified defendant as the person who shot the victim. Further, another eyewitness identified defendant, and defendant matched the description of other witnesses' identification of the shooter. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stephens, Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 55,087-KA, Categories: evidence, Manslaughter, witnesses
J. Brobson finds that the defendant in this case must be awarded a new trial because in court the prosecutor in this case asked the arresting officer said the defendant, who did not speak after being detained, did not deny the charges against him. Admitting this testimony in this case was not a harmless error. Vacated in part.
Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Judge: Brobson, Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: J-78-2022, Categories: evidence, Sentencing, witnesses
[Consolidated.] J. McShan finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request to vacate his conviction for assault due to Brady violations. Background information on a forensic scientist who testified for the prosecution should have been disclosed to defendant, but the quality of the scientist's training was not material and did not prejudice defendant. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: McShan, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: 111627, Categories: evidence, Assault, witnesses
J. Soto finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of sexual assault of a child. Defendant argued there wasn’t adequate evidence to convict him and that the court had improperly barred him from cross-examining a witness — the mother of the alleged victim and defendant’s ex-wife, whom defendant argued was biased because she had an interest in related divorce and child custody proceedings — but this witness “did not dispute” that there were “difficulties in their marriage” and any benefit to defendant from cross-examining her “would have been minimal.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00206-CR, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, witnesses