OPINION Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court. The defendant, Geronimo Cosme, appeals from a judgment of conviction for possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver and for possession of cocaine in an amount between one ounce and one kilogram. Specifically, the defendant challenges the denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized from his home, arguing that the affidavit underlying the warrant did not provide the requisite probable cause to support a search of his residence. In...
OPINION Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court. The defendant, John Ford, appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction declaring him to be in violation of his probation and executing thirty months of his previously imposed suspended sentence. On appeal, the defendant argues that, at his violation hearing, the hearing justice erred in refusing to admit a letter written and sent to him by the state's complaining witness. Additionally, the defendant asserts that the hearing justice...
OPINION Justice FLAHERTY, for the Court. The plaintiffs include fifteen minor children and their parents 2 who participated in the Family Court's Truancy Court Diversion Calendar Program. The Diversion Program, established in 1999, allows Family Court magistrates to conduct court sessions at public schools where truancy has become an issue. The stated goal of the Diversion Program is to ensure that children not only attend school, but also that they receive necessary rehabilitative and...
OPINION Justice GOLDBERG, for the Court. The applicant, Kyle Campbell (Campbell or applicant), appeals from the Superior Court's denial of his application for postconviction relief, alleging, inter alia, that the trial justice erred in failing to appoint counsel before he dismissed Campbell's claims. Because G.L.1956 10-9.1-5 1 mandates that an indigent applicant for postconviction relief be represented by the Public Defender or appointed counsel, and Campbell was not provided with...
OPINION Justice GOLDBERG, for the Court. The applicant, Nelson Bido (Bido or applicant), is before the Supreme Court on appeal from a Superior Court judgment that denied his application for postconviction relief. He argues that the trial justice erred in dismissing his application that alleged, principally, the ineffective assistance of his trial counsel based on counsel's failure to move for dismissal of the indictment on speedy-trial grounds. After a careful review of the record, we affirm...
OPINION Justice ROBINSON, for the Court. The defendant, Jos Gonzalez, appeals from a judgment of conviction on one count of first degree child molestation and two counts of second degree child molestation stemming from events that allegedly occurred at 131 Lincoln Avenue in Central Falls on June 30, 2007. The defendant is the great-uncle of the complaining witness. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial justice erred in failing to grant his motion for a new trial due to what he...
ORDER For the reasons expressed in our Order issued on this date in Rhode Island Public Employees' Retiree Coalition et al. v. Lincoln D. Chafee et al., 58 A.3d 915 (R.I. 2012), the petition for writ of certiorari is denied.
ORDER For the reasons expressed in our Order issued on this date in Rhode Island Public Employees' Retiree Coalition et al. v. Lincoln D. Chafee et al., 58 A.3d 915 (R.I. 2012), the petition for writ of certiorari is denied.
ORDER For the reasons expressed in our Order issued on this date in Rhode Island Public Employees' Retiree Coalition et al. v. Lincoln D. Chafee et al., 58 A.3d 915 (R.I. 2012), the petition for writ of certiorari is denied.
ORDER For the reasons expressed in our Order issued on this date in Rhode Island Public Employees' Retiree Coalition et al. v. Lincoln D. Chafee et al., 58 A.3d 915 (R.I. 2012), the petition for writ of certiorari is denied.
ORDER This case came before the Supreme Court in conference on December 5, 2012, on a petition for writ of certiorari and motion for a stay of proceedings in Superior Court, filed by the defendants, Governor Lincoln Chafee et al. The defendants seek review in this Court of a decision and Order of the trial justice declining to recuse in this case. This petition arose after a series of written communications and conferences with the trial justice, in which the defendants contended that the...
OPINION Justice FLAHERTY, for the Court. The applicant, Hector Jaiman, appeals to this Court from the Superior Court's denial of his application for postconviction relief. Jaiman previously was convicted of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and assault with a dangerous weapon. Before this Court, Jaiman contends that his application for postconviction relief should have been granted based on a violation of his right to due process. He also argues that he was prejudiced by the...
OPINION Justice INDEGLIA, for the Court. The defendant, Samnang Tep, appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence. On appeal, Tep contends that the trial justice abused his discretion when he (1) admitted into evidence a prejudicial hearsay statement as an excited utterance; and (2) allowed a lay witness to testify as to Tep's mental state at the time of the...
OPINION Justice INDEGLIA, for the Court. The defendant, Luigi Ricci (Ricci or defendant), appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction. On appeal, he contends that the trial justice committed reversible error in (1) failing to adequately instruct the jury on how to assess the credibility of the state's witnesses; (2) failing to instruct the jury that a history of drug abuse may weaken the credibility of a testifying witness; and (3) denying his motion for a new trial. After...
OPINION Justice INDEGLIA, for the Court. The defendant, Gerrit Musterd, appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction for first-degree murder and three related crimes. On appeal, Musterd argues that the trial justice erred in denying his pretrial motions to suppress evidence; he also contends that the trial justice improperly denied his motions for a new trial and for a judgment of acquittal. After reviewing the record and considering the parties' written submissions and oral arguments,...
OPINION Justice ROBINSON, for the Court. The defendant, Julie Robat, appeals from a judgment of conviction on one count of second-degree murder. The victim was the defendant's newborn daughter. On appeal, the defendant first contends that the trial justice erred in failing to grant her motion for a judgment of acquittal and her later motion for a new trial on the second-degree murder charge; the basis for that contention is the defendant's underlying assertion that the state failed to provide...
OPINION Justice ROBINSON, for the Court. The applicant, Eddy Guerrero, appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief. The applicant's sole contention on appeal is that the hearing justice erred in holding that his trial counsel provided effective assistance of counsel prior to and during the applicant's plea of nolo contendere. Specifically, applicant contends: (1) that his counsel failed to obtain an interpreter for him at the time of the hearing on his motion to...
OPINION Justice ROBINSON, for the Court. The defendant, Juan Diaz, appeals from a judgment of conviction on one count of second-degree murder and one count of using a firearm while committing a crime of violence. On appeal, the defendant first contends that the trial justice erred in failing to grant his motion for a judgment of acquittal on the second-degree murder charge; the basis for that contention is the defendant's subordinate assertion that the state failed to provide legally...
OPINION Justice INDEGLIA, for the Court. At the end of a trial held in Kent County Superior Court, a jury found the defendant, James Cook (defendant or Cook), guilty of twenty-two counts ranging from first-degree sexual assault to identity fraud. On appeal, Cook contends that the trial justice committed reversible error in denying his motion for a mistrial after the jury heard testimony that he had been on probation and also in admitting evidence of other prior sexual misconduct. For the...
OPINION Justice GOLDBERG, for the Court. This case presents a rare look into the dark side of prison life and the human cost and institutional consequences that result when rogue correctional officers deviate from established prison standards. The defendant, Kenneth Viveiros (defendant or Viveiros), is before the Supreme Court on appeal from a conviction on four counts of simple assault against three inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI), occurring while the defendant was...
