Court Opinion

ID: 4813608
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2021-08-21 15:29:43.252095+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:10:44.259827
License: Public Domain

NORTHCUTT, J.,
Specially concurring.
I fully and easily concur in the affir-mance of Westbrooks’ convictions because the State presented evidence of circumstances that refuted Westbrooks’ hypothesis of innocence. I do not share my colleagues’ view about the efficacy of the circumstantial evidence rule. To the contrary, I believe the rule is what prevents a purely circumstantial case from devolving into little more than a trial by ordeal. But, rather than clutter the margins of this opinion with a hypothetical exchange, I will refrain from proffering a more refined defense of the rule until I am assigned to a case that turns on the issue.