State v. Simpson, 86-90-C
| Decision Date | 16 February 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-90-C,86-90-C |
| Citation | 520 A.2d 1281 |
| Parties | STATE v. Walter R. SIMPSON. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This matter is before the court on appeal from a conviction of first-degree sexual assault. On the defendant's appeal his first conviction was overturned, and this appeal is the result of the retrial and conviction. After being found guilty on retrial, the defendant was sentenced to fifty years, twenty of which were suspended with twenty years probation. We affirm.
At trial the victim, hereinafter referred to as Melissa, 1 testified that on March 23, 1982, she left her home at approximately 9:30 p.m. and went to the Firefighter's Lounge on Cranston Street in Providence. There she met her cousin and some friends and had two drinks. Melissa stayed at the bar for approximately forty-five minutes, then left to deliver a homemade pizza to her aunt's home on Linwood Avenue. Outside the bar, Melissa had an argument with a male friend, hereinafter referred to as John. 2 She also met defendant outside the bar, and he asked her for a ride home. Melissa and defendant got into Melissa's car and headed for her aunt's house to deliver the pizza.
As Melissa turned the corner onto Linwood Avenue, she saw John standing by his car. She stopped for a short time, and they again exchanged words. At this point, defendant also got out of Melissa's car. Melissa returned to her car and drove the short distance to her aunt's house alone. After delivering the pizza, Melissa returned to her car where she found defendant, who repeated his request for a ride home.
The defendant directed Melissa into Roger Williams Park. Melissa assumed he lived in the area and was taking a short cut, but she soon realized she was being directed to drive in circles. The defendant began making advances toward Melissa and told her to pull over. When she refused, defendant grabbed the wheel steered the car to the side of the road, and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Melissa struggled out of the car, but defendant threw her to the ground and dragged her by the legs about fifteen feet down an embankment. Melissa suffered cuts and bruises to her hands, arms, legs, and face as a result of being dragged through brush, thorns, and broken glass. The defendant then sat on Melissa's legs, pulled her clothing off, and sexually assaulted her.
The defendant began to walk away when Melissa reminded him that she no longer had the keys to her car. The defendant told her to walk with him, and she complied, testifying later that she was "scared for her life." After some time, defendant entered a house to find Melissa a ride home, instructing her to wait for him. Melissa seized this opportunity to run down an alley next to the house, whereupon she found herself on Broad Street. She flagged down a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus and told the driver she had been raped. The driver flagged down a Providence police car, and the officer radioed for a rescue vehicle. Both the driver of the bus and the responding officer testified that Melissa was hysterical, that her clothing was torn, and that she was bleeding.
The defendant was arrested approximately two weeks later. At that time, when the police arrived at the Broad Street address, defendant exited through a window of his apartment and tried to jump over a fence. He was apprehended close to the place where Melissa had stopped the bus.
The defendant took the stand and testified that he had asked Melissa for a ride home when she first arrived at the Firefighter's Lounge. He also testified that this was not the first time Melissa had driven him home. While inside the bar, defendant stated, he intervened when John slapped Melissa during an argument. The argument continued outside the bar and defendant again came to Melissa's aid. Melissa and defendant left in Melissa's car but met John again on Linwood Avenue where another fight ensued. During this altercation, John was able to slap her, push her into some bushes, drag her by her hair, and knock her into a fence before defendant was able to break up the fight. The defendant noticed that Melissa was scratched and bleeding at this point. The defendant then walked away from the scene of the fight, and John followed. The two men walked together a short distance until John turned at Potters Avenue. As they walked, defendant noticed that Melissa was racing her car up and down the street. When John left defendant, defendant went to a hot weiner place on Bucklin Street, arriving sometime after midnight. He last saw Melissa driving in the direction John had taken.
During cross-examination of defendant, the prosecutor asked if defendant was aware that Melissa's car was found at Roger Williams Park at approximately 1:20 a.m. on March 24, 1982. Defense counsel objected and moved to pass, and the trial justice sustained the objection and denied the motion. In a cautionary instruction to the jury the trial justice explained that statements of counsel are not evidence. The prosecutor later introduced the information relating to the time of the recovery of Melissa's car through a rebuttal witness. Defense counsel objected to the use of rebuttal evidence.
The first conviction of defendant for this offense was overturned on appeal and remanded for a new trial. At the first trial, defendant was sentenced to fifteen years, five of which were suspended with five years' probation. At retrial, defendant was sentenced to fifty years, twenty of which were suspended with twenty years' probation. At the sentencing hearing, the trial justice considered defendant's habits and conduct since the first trial, as well as his mental and moral propensities. The trial justice stated that defendant had been found guilty of a brutal crime, one not to be taken lightly. Also, while defendant was incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions following his first trial, he was charged with seventy-five violations. He was found guilty of sixty-eight, one of which involved an assault on a guard. As a result of the assault, the guard lost sight in one of his eyes. In addition, at the time of the second sentencing, the trial justice also noted that defendant was the subject of a criminal information involving tampering with an automobile. This incident also occurred after his first trial. The defendant's fingerprints were found on the car, and he had been positively identified. Lastly, the trial justice believed defendant had lied under oath.
The defendant appeals the denial of his motion to pass following the improper question by the prosecutor on cross-examination. Motions to pass are addressed to the sound discretion of the trial judge. State v. Pailin, 114 R.I. 725, 729, 339 A.2d 253, 255 (1975). As a direct observer, the trial judge is in the best position to determine the effect of the improper statement on the jury. His or her determination will not be overturned unless it is clearly wrong. Id. The improper statement must be neither " 'totally extraneous to the issues in the case [nor] tend[ing] to inflame and arouse the passions of the jury.' " State v. Caprio, 477 A.2d 67, 73 (R.I.1984). The statement in question in this case was neither. The trial justice correctly sustained defense counsel's objection to the improper statement and gave an appropriate cautionary instruction. The prosecutor later put the evidence relating to the content of the statement properly before the jury through the rebuttal witness, who discovered Melissa's car.
Generally, a cautionary instruction...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Mattatall
...conviction nullifies the previous sentence, thereby clearing the slate for the imposition of a completely new sentence. State v. Simpson, 520 A.2d 1281, 1285 (R.I.1987) (citing Pearce, 395 U.S. at 721, 89 S.Ct. at 2078, 23 L.Ed.2d at 667). Therefore, the trial justice on retrial may impose ......
-
State v. Kholi
...State v. Roderigues, 656 A.2d 192, 194 (R.I.1995) (citing State v. Morejon, 603 A.2d 730, 736 (R.I.1992)); see also State v. Simpson, 520 A.2d 1281, 1284 (R.I.1987). This court will disturb the rulings of a trial justice only when such abuse constitutes prejudicial error. State v. Anthony, ......
-
State v. Stewart
...in the discretion of the trial justice, whose decision will not be overturned absent an abuse of that discretion. See State v. Simpson, 520 A.2d 1281, 1284 (R.I.1987); State v. Lawrence, 492 A.2d 147, 149 (R.I.1985); 2 Wharton's Criminal Evidence § 432 (14th Torcia ed. Doctor Singer's and D......
-
State v. Tiernan
...precise and concrete of the available indicia")(quoting United States v. Hendrix, 505 F.2d 1233, 1236 (2d Cir.1974)); State v. Simpson, 520 A.2d 1281, 1285 (R.I.1987) (willingness to give false testimony may be taken into account during sentencing); Bertoldi, 495 A.2d at 253 ("defendant's w......