Opinion ID: 2002399
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Defendant's Motion for Judgment of Acquittal

Text: The defendant filed a motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the state's case and renewed it at the end of the trial, arguing that insufficient evidence existed to support a conviction for assault with intent to murder on either Graves or Spears. In both instances, the trial justice denied the motion. This court has, on many occasions, enunciated the standard applied when considering a motion for judgment of acquittal. See State v. Caruolo, 524 A.2d 575, 580-81 (R.I. 1987); State v. Wilshire, 509 A.2d 444, 452 (R.I. 1986); State v. Gazerro, 420 A.2d 816, 827 (R.I. 1980). The trial court, as well as this court on review, must view all evidence and inferences capable of supporting guilt by proof beyond a reasonable doubt in the light most favorable to the state. State v. Caruolo, 524 A.2d at 581. Furthermore, the court is precluded from considering the weight of the evidence or assessing the credibility of witnesses. State v. Wilshire, 509 A.2d at 452. If the evidence, as viewed in this light, could not support a jury finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the trial justice should grant the motion. See State v. Sundel, 121 R.I. 638, 644-45, 402 A.2d 585, 589 (1979). If, however, relying upon the evidence, a reasonable jury could find defendant guilty, the motion should be denied. Applying these principles to the case at bar, we hold that the trial justice correctly denied defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal. The undisputed evidence adduced at trial shows that defendant shot Graves and Spears not once but twice. Although the record reveals a fair amount of contradictory testimony on the issues of self-defense and malicious intent, these were properly placed within the jury's province for deliberation. The jury resolved the issues in favor of defendant on count 1 and the state on count 2. At this juncture we cannot say that the evidence was insufficient for a reasonable jury to find defendant guilty.