Court Opinion

ID: 9455571
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:26:09.171376+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:38.751829
License: Public Domain

FAHY, Senior Circuit Judge
(concurring) :
I concur in affirmance. In doing so, however, I cannot give to the visual evidence the weight ascribed to it by the court; for this evidence is not reflected in the record in a manner which enables me to do so. The demonstrations and the blackboard drawing are not before us. The record references to them are all that are available to us and these references fall far short of justifying me in characterizing the visual evidence as does the opinion of the court. By way of illustrations the opinion states that from such evidence it was “possible with great accuracy to determine” who fired the shot, and that such evidence caused the decision of the trial court and of the jury to be based primarily on undisputed evidence “of the highest probative value that is not available to a court on appeal.” The very lack of its availability to us should I think warn us not to appraise the evidence in the manner stated.