Court Opinion

ID: 9567612
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:56:09.626482+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:00:43.291052
License: Public Domain

CORCORAN, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I find no good cause for Judge Ventre to reconsider Judge Seidel’s order permitting the transcript to be used at the second trial because the victim was unavailable. The alleged “discrepancy” in the transcript concerning whether the victim correctly pointed to her vagina is nonexistent. If the victim failed to point to her vagina correctly, then defendant should have and would have made note of it on the record. That defendant made no such record militates in favor of finding that no discrepancy exists.
This conclusion is further buttressed by the record on cross-examination, in which defense counsel asked the victim to indicate on a drawing of a doll where the vagina would be located. Again, the record does not show that the victim failed to indicate the correct location.
Finally, we are not presented with a record that defense counsel argued the matter to the jury in closing argument. *385This further supports my conclusion that the alleged discrepancy is bogus and that therefore good cause did not exist for reconsideration of Judge Seidel’s ruling. It would have been appropriate for Judge Ventre to refer this “new factor” to Judge Seidel for his consideration. Cf. rule 32.-4(c) (providing that rule 32 proceedings “shall be assigned to the sentencing judge where possible”); State ex rel. Corbin v. Superior Court, 138 Ariz. 500, 502, 675 P.2d 1319, 1321 (1984) (rule 32.4(c) “favors the policy of giving a judge already familiar with the case the opportunity to correct any errors”).
NOTE: The Honorable ROBERT J. CORCORAN, Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, has been authorized by Administrative Order No. 89-3 of the Chief Justice, to participate in the resolution of this case which was previously assigned to him as a judge of this court or to his department before Thursday, January 5, 1989.