Supreme Court

Criminal Case Summaries 2020

2020-167-M.P. Danielle Lefebvre v. State (full briefing)

The petitioner seeks review of a judgment denying her application for postconviction relief. The petitioner asserts that the judge erred in denying her application based on ineffective assistance of counsel because her trial counsel failed to consult an expert in a medically complicated child abuse case, and trial counsel produced petitioner’s medical records which contained damaging statements that were used against petitioner at her trial.

2020-288-C.A. State v. Richard Gamache (full briefing)

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction on eleven counts of intentional access, alteration, damage, or destruction of computer data pursuant to § 11-52-3, and two counts of giving a false document to an agent, employee, or public official. The defendant claims that the trial judge erred: 1) in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the felony counts; 2) in allowing testimony regarding internal Middletown police procedures; and 3) in denying his motion for a new trial.

2020-274-C.A. State v. Carlton Vose (full briefing)

The defendant appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction of six counts of neglect of an adult with severe impairments. The defendant raises several issues on appeal, including that medical testimony was necessary to establish severe impairment under § 11-5-12, medical evidence to support several counts was lacking, whether a severe impairment existed was a question of law not fact, the judge erred in failing to instruct the jury regarding the good faith exemption in § 11-5-12(j), the state deliberately violated discovery rules by calling fewer witnesses than listed, and the judge erred in denying his motion for a new trial based on the weight of the evidence.

2020-229-C.A. State v. Mitchell Savard (full briefing)

The defendant appeals after a jury convicted him of driving to endanger, death resulting, and driving to endanger, personal injury resulting. On appeal he challenges the denial of his weight-of-the-evidence new trial motion.

2020-192 State v. Edward Delossantos (full briefing)

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction after a jury found him guilty of driving a vehicle without consent of the owner, domestic felony assault, domestic simple assault, simple assault, and vandalism. The judge granted his midtrial request to proceed pro se. On appeal he argues that his request to represent himself should have been denied, the judge made several errors related to his self-representation, and his motion for a new trial should have been granted based on errors stemming from his self-representation.

2021-43 State v. Victor Tavares (show cause)

The defendant appeals from the denial of his motion to dismiss the underlying criminal information. He asserts that the underlying criminal information should have been dismissed based on subject matter jurisdiction, collateral estoppel, and prosecutorial prejudice.

2020-200 State v. Adam Jilling (show cause)

The state appeals from the grant of the defendant’s motion to dismiss the criminal information charging him with accessing a computer system for the purpose of obtaining property by false or fraudulent pretenses, as well as conspiracy to fraudulently use a computer. The state argues that the judge’s statutory analysis was erroneous and that the judge made clearly erroneous findings and overlooked key facts.

2020-201 State v. Gary Gagne (show cause)

2020-205 State v. Daniel Anton (show cause)

2020-205 State v. George Quintal (show cause)

2020-89 State v. Erik A. Valdez (show cause)

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction entered after a jury verdict of guilty on second-degree sexual assault, breaking and entering, and disorderly conduct. On appeal, he argues that: (1) the trial justice erred when he denied his motion for judgment of acquittal on the disorderly conduct charge, because the evidence was legally insufficient to establish that he engaged in disorderly conduct; (2) the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a new trial, because he overlooked and misconceived material evidence related to the counts for second-degree sexual assault, breaking and entering, and disorderly conduct; and (3) the trial justice failed to independently assess the credibility and weight of the evidence or explain his decision when he denied defendant’s motion for a new trial on the disorderly conduct charge.

2020-53 State v. Robert Barboza (show cause)

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction for second-degree child molestation. He contends that the trial justice erred in denying his motion for a mistrial because a question posed by the state to the complaining witness was highly prejudicial and violated a pretrial order.

2020-139 State v. Brian Smith (show cause)

The defendant appeals from the denial of his motions for credit for time served and to restructure his sentence. He asserts that the judge erred: (1) when he conflated the credit for time served with defendant’s negotiated sentence reduction; (2) in finding that the provision of § 12-19-2(a) for credit for time served ceases to apply once a defendant is already serving a sentence on a separate conviction; (3) in denying defendant’s motion to restructure his sentence to run concurrently with the sentences defendant received for other related offenses; and (4) in violating defendant’s protection against double jeopardy and in violating his due process and equal protection rights.