State v. White
| Decision Date | 23 May 1967 |
| Citation | 155 Conn. 122,230 A.2d 18 |
| Parties | STATE of Connecticut v. Ernest N. WHITE. |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
Herbert J. Bundock, Public Defender, with whom, on the brief, was G. Sarsfield Ford, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant (defendant).
Arlen D. Nickowitz, Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, was Otto J. Saur, State's Atty., for appellee (state).
Before KING, C.J., and ALCORN, HOUSE, COTTER and RYAN, JJ.
The defendant was found guilty of the crimes of rape and simple assault and has appealed. 1 His guilt was determined in a jury trial during which he offered alibi evidence that he was at another place, twenty-one miles away, at about the time the state claimed that the rape was committed. He claims that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt either that a rape was committed or that he committed it.
These claims present the single question whether, on all the evidence, the state proved the defendant guilty of the crime of rape beyond a reasonable doubt. Although an alibi is sometimes spoken of as a defense, it operates, in this state, to entitle an accused to an acquittal when he has so far proved the alibi that a reasonable doubt of his guilt is raised upon all the evidence. State v. Brauneis, 84 Conn. 222, 231, 79 A. 70; State v. Ferris, 81 Conn. 97, 100, 70 A. 587. Consequently, we have examined the evidence printed in the appendices to the briefs to determine the single basic question presented. State v. Stallings, 154 Conn. 272, 283, 224 A.2d 718; State v. Davis, 153 Conn. 228, 229, 215 A.2d 414; State v. Bill, 146 Conn. 693, 694, 155 A.2d 752.
It is unnecessary to summarize the facts which the jury reasonably could have found to have been rpoved. The credibility to be accorded the testimony of the victim was for the jury to determine and, if credible, her testimony was sufficient to establish the commission of the crime. State v. Hodge, 153 Conn. 564, 573, 219 A.2d 367; State v. Chuchelow, 131 Conn. 82, 83, 37 A.2d 689. It was also the jury's function to determine the credibility of the defendant and the alibi witnesses. State v. Hodge, supra, 572.
There was ample evidence before the jury to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a rape had been committed by the defendant. The testimony of the victim was corroborated in many particulars. The defendant offered evidence that a rape could not have been committed under the circumstances claimed by the state and, beyond...
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State v. Bryant
...acquittal when he has so far proved the alibi that a reasonable doubt of his guilt is raised upon all the evidence." State v. White, 155 Conn. 122, 123, 230 A.2d 18 (1967); see State v. McKnight, 191 Conn. 564, 584, 469 A.2d 397 (1983); State v. Rosado, 178 Conn. 704, 708 n. 2, 425 A.2d 108......
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State v. Roy D. L.
...the defendant engaged in the underlying criminal conduct, the defendant's broad sufficiency claim fails. See, e.g., State v. White , 155 Conn. 122, 123, 230 A.2d 18 (1967) ("[t]he credibility to be accorded the testimony of the victim was for the [trier of fact] to determine and, if credibl......
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State v. White, s. 13941
...witnesses is a matter to be resolved solely by the jury.' State v. Myers, 193 Conn. 457, 473, 479 A.2d 199 (1984); State v. White, 155 Conn. 122, 123-24, 230 A.2d 18 (1967). 'This court cannot substitute its own judgment for that of the jury if there is sufficient evidence to support the ju......
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State v. McKnight
...whether he was present, and that if a reasonable doubt upon that point exists, it is their duty to acquit. State v. White, 155 Conn. 122, 123, 230 A.2d 18 (1967); State v. Brauneis, 84 Conn. 222, 231, 79 A. 70 (1911)." Here, the trial court instructed the jury of the state's burden to "prov......