Opinion ID: 1943965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Kidnapping Evidence Judge's Role

Text: In this appeal, Gronenthal also contends that the Superior Court erroneously denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal as to the kidnapping charge. According to Gronenthal, the Superior Court failed to determine, as a matter of law, that the restraint he employed to commit the alleged kidnapping offense was substantially greater than the restraint normally incident to the other alleged underlying offenses. In Weber, this Court has held that when a defendant is charged with kidnapping in conjunction with other underlying offenses that also involve restraint, such as Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, the jury must be instructed that the restraint upon which the kidnapping is premised has to be independent of and not incidental to the other underlying crime or crimes, in order to convict for the separate offense of kidnapping. [17] In Weber, this Court specifically held that the interference with the victim's liberty must be much more interference than is ordinarily incident to [one or more] underlying offense[s] to support a conviction for the [separate] offense of kidnapping. [18] Most importantly, in Weber, this Court held a kidnapping charge should be submitted to the jury only after the trial judge makes an initial determination, as a matter of law, that the facts of the State's case support a separate conviction for kidnapping. [19] If the trial judge, after performing this initial determination, is satisfied that the jury could reasonably conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the restraint was substantially greater than the restraint normally incident to the other underlying offenses, the kidnapping charge may be submitted to the jury with the appropriate required instruction. The question of whether the restraint involved is sufficient to constitute kidnapping only becomes a factual question for the jury, however, after the trial judge makes an independent judicial determination that there is sufficient factual support in the record for a separate kidnapping conviction, as a matter of law. [20]