State v. Morales
| Decision Date | 18 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 2005-70-C.A.,2005-70-C.A. |
| Citation | 895 A.2d 114 |
| Parties | STATE v. Angel MORALES. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Diane Daigle, for Plaintiff.
Thomas Gulick, for Defendant.
Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., GOLDBERG, FLAHERTY, SUTTELL, and ROBINSON, JJ.
The defendant, Angel Morales, appeals from a jury verdict finding him guilty of second-degree child molestation. As a result of this conviction, the defendant was sentenced to a term of fifteen years—two years to be served at the Adult Correctional Institutions and thirteen years suspended, with probation. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to register as a sex offender, to attend sex offender counseling, and to have no contact with the victim.
On appeal, defendant argues (1) that the trial justice was clearly wrong in admitting certain hearsay evidence under the excited utterance exception and (2) that the trial justice was clearly wrong in denying defendant's motion for a new trial.
This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument on February 2, 2006, pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not be summarily decided. After hearing the arguments of counsel and reviewing the memoranda submitted by the parties, we are of the opinion that this appeal may be decided at this time, without further briefing or argument.
On Friday, October 4, 2002, seven-year-old Jane1 and her brother John traveled to Providence to spend the weekend at the home of their aunt, Ligna.2 Upon arriving at their aunt's apartment, Jane and John played kickball and video games with their cousins. At some point that evening, defendant, who was Ligna's boyfriend, arrived at the apartment to spend the night with Ligna and their son. After dinner, everyone watched a movie in the living room; and during the movie Jane fell asleep. Her brother and her cousins also slept in the living room that night-all within an arm's length of where Jane was sleeping.3
According to Jane's testimony, at some point during that night, she awoke to find defendant touching her leg and her "private." Jane testified that, when she woke up, her pants and underwear had been pulled down to her shins. She testified that defendant touched her "private" for about fifteen to thirty seconds. Jane further testified that she did not scream because she did not want to awaken the others, but that she told defendant to stop "in a kind of loud voice." According to Jane's testimony, defendant did not stop touching her the first time she told him to stop; but, when she said it a second time, he stopped touching her and walked away. Jane testified that, after defendant walked away, she pulled up her pants and then stayed awake for about fifteen minutes to make sure that defendant was gone before she fell back to sleep. Jane also testified that none of the other children sleeping in the room woke up during this time.
The next morning, when Jane woke up, and after defendant had left for work, she went to her aunt's bedroom and asked to call her mother. When Ligna questioned Jane as to why she wanted to call her mother, Jane told her aunt that defendant had touched her. Jane testified that her aunt appeared "shocked" by what Jane had told her and then proceeded to call Jane's mother, Pilar.
Pilar testified that she was at work when she received the telephone call from her sister Ligna on October 5. Pilar further testified that, after speaking with Ligna, she spoke to Jane, who seemed frightened and who was crying. According to Pilar's testimony, Jane told her on the telephone that defendant had touched her in her private area between her legs. After speaking with her daughter, Pilar decided to drive from Boston, where she was working, to her sister's home in Providence.
Pilar testified that, when she arrived at Ligna's apartment, Jane looked sad and frightened. Pilar further testified that, when she asked Jane what had happened, Jane repeated what she had told her earlier in their phone conversation—namely, that defendant had touched her. According to Pilar's testimony, she and Jane then went outside and sat in her car to talk about what had happened. Pilar testified that Jane was crying while they were talking. When Pilar asked Jane to show her where defendant had touched her, Jane pointed to her vagina.
Further according to Pilar's testimony, defendant returned from work while she was at the apartment. Pilar testified that defendant denied having done anything, but also told her that he would get counseling and "do whatever he needed to do." Pilar testified that defendant then left the apartment, and her sister told her that he would not be coming back. Pilar further testified that she did not bring Jane home to Massachusetts with her that day because Jane wanted to go hiking with her aunt and the other children the next day.
At trial, defendant testified that he went to bed around 10 on the night of Friday, October 4, and did not get up until around 6 the next morning. The defendant further testified that he did not leave the bed where he and Ligna were sleeping for any reason during the night and that he did not touch Jane inappropriately on either October 4 or October 5. According to defendant's testimony, when he spoke with Pilar on October 5, he denied touching Jane. He also testified that he did not tell Pilar that he was going to attend counseling or apologize for what Jane claimed had happened. The defendant testified that he spent the night at Ligna's apartment on Saturday, October 5, and that Pilar was aware of that fact.
Jane's cousin, Thomas, testified that he also spent the night of October 4 at his aunt Ligna's apartment. Thomas testified that he slept in the living room that night, within an arm's length of where Jane was sleeping. According to Thomas's testimony, he did not wake up or hear any noises or voices during the night. Thomas further testified that Jane did not appear to be upset the next day.
Ligna testified at trial that neither she nor defendant got up during the night of October 4. According to Ligna's testimony, she knew that defendant had not gotten up from bed during that night because, to do so, he would have had to climb over her-which would have caused her to wake up. Ligna further testified that the next day, October 5, Jane "was fine" and never cried-even when she spoke to her mother on the telephone and when her mother arrived at Ligna's apartment. Ligna denied telling Lisa Peterson, the social worker with whom she spoke regarding the alleged incident, that she had asked defendant to go to counseling or to talk with a priest.
Following a jury trial in Superior Court, defendant was found guilty of second-degree child molestation. The defendant was sentenced to a term of fifteen years — two years to be served at the Adult Correctional Institutions and thirteen years suspended, with probation. In addition, defendant was ordered to register as a sex offender, to attend sex offender counseling, and to have no contact with the victim. On December 14, 2004, the trial justice issued a written order denying defendant's motion for a new trial.
On appeal, defendant argues (1) that the trial justice was clearly wrong in admitting certain hearsay evidence under the excited utterance exception and (2) that the trial justice was clearly wrong in denying defendant's motion for a new trial.
We review a trial justice's decision regarding the admissibility of evidence pursuant to the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule under an abuse of discretion standard. See State v. Krakue, 726 A.2d 458, 462 (R.I.1999). It is well settled in this jurisdiction that "[a]ny decision made by a trial justice concerning the admission of excited utterances shall not be overturned unless clearly wrong." Id. (quoting State v. Perry, 574 A.2d 149, 151 (R.I.1990)); see also State v. Gomes, 881 A.2d 97, 109 (R.I.2005) (); State v. Arruda, 785 A.2d 565, 567 (R.I.2001) (mem.) ("We will not second guess a trial justice's discretion to admit or deny admission of an excited utterance, unless and until we are convinced that he or she was clearly wrong.").
Similar principles apply to our review of a trial court's denial of a motion for a new trial. In cases in which a trial justice has articulated an adequate rationale for denying such a motion, the trial justice's ruling is given deference. See State v. Banach, 648 A.2d 1363, 1367 (R.I. 1994) (); see also State v. Gomez, 848 A.2d 221, 234 (R.I. 2004); State v. Rivera, 839 A.2d 497, 503 (R.I.2003); State v. Otero, 788 A.2d 469, 472 (R.I.2002). We will disturb such a ruling on appeal only if "the trial justice has overlooked or misconceived material evidence relating to a critical issue or if the justice was otherwise clearly wrong." Banach, 648 A.2d at 1367; see also Gomez, 848 A.2d at 234; Otero, 788 A.2d at 472. The burden of persuading this Court that the trial justice has erred in ruling on a motion for a new trial is on the party challenging the ruling. Rivera, 839 A.2d at 503.
The defendant's first argument on appeal is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Oliveira
..."was still laboring under the stress of excitement caused by the event when he or she made the statement at issue." State v. Morales, 895 A.2d 114, 120 (R.I.2006) (citing State v. Nordstrom, 104 R.I. 471, 476, 244 A.2d 837, 840 This Court has noted that in cases of sexual assault the time r......
-
State v. Day
...evidence, and then (3) determine whether he or she would have reached a result different from that reached by the jury." State v. Morales, 895 A.2d 114, 121 (R.I.2006); see also Abreu, 899 A.2d at 477. If the trial justice concludes that reasonable minds could differ as to the result or if ......
-
State v. Pineda
...then (3) determine whether he or she would have reached a result different from that reached by the jury.” Id. (quoting State v. Morales, 895 A.2d 114, 121 (R.I.2006)). The new-trial motion should be denied “[i]f the trial justice concludes that reasonable minds could differ as to the resul......
-
State v. Adefusika, 2007-192-C.A.
...the weight of the evidence." Banach, 648 A.2d at 1367; see also Texieira, 944 A.2d at 140; Imbruglia, 913 A.2d at 1028; State v. Morales, 895 A.2d 114, 121 (R.I.2006); State v. Hallenbeck, 878 A.2d 992, 1011 (R.I.2005). We review the rulings of trial justices on motions for a new trial defe......
-
Hearsay
...may be considered excited utterances does not automatically except them from Confrontation Clause protections. State v. Morales , 895 A.2d 114 (R.I. 2006). In sexual assault cases, especially in cases where the victim is a child of tender years, the time requirement with respect to excited ......
-
Hearsay
...may be considered excited utterances does not automatically except them from Confrontation Clause protections. State v. Morales , 895 A.2d 114 (R.I. 2006). In sexual assault cases, especially in cases where the victim is a child of tender years, the time requirement with respect to excited ......
-
Hearsay
...may be considered excited utterances does not automatically except them from Confrontation Clause protections. State v. Morales , 895 A.2d 114 (R.I. 2006). In sexual assault cases, especially in cases where the victim is a child of tender years, the time requirement with respect to excited ......
-
Hearsay
...may be considered excited utterances does not automatically except them from Confrontation Clause protections. State v. Morales , 895 A.2d 114 (R.I. 2006). In sexual assault cases, especially in cases where the victim is a child of tender years, the time requirement with respect to excited ......