Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Trevor I. DesRosiers was convicted by a jury in the Penobscot County Unified Criminal Docket on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of furnishing liquor to a minor. DesRosiers appealed, arguing insufficient evidence to prove he and the victim were not married during the sexual acts and to establish the victim’s age for Counts 1-4. He also claimed prosecutorial errors in closing arguments deprived him of a fair trial.The trial court denied DesRosiers’s motion for judgment of acquittal, and the jury found him guilty on all counts. The court sentenced him to concurrent terms of forty-two months for sexual abuse and three months for furnishing liquor, with all but twenty months suspended. DesRosiers appealed the conviction.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. The court found sufficient evidence to support the jury’s conclusion that DesRosiers and the victim were not married, based on the victim’s age, living situation, and the nature of their relationship. The court also found sufficient evidence to establish the victim’s age during the offenses, as she was fifteen throughout the relevant period.Regarding prosecutorial errors, the court determined that most of the prosecutor’s comments did not constitute error. However, the prosecutor’s comment on DesRosiers’s invocation of his Fourth Amendment right was deemed error but not obvious error. The court concluded that this isolated comment did not undermine the trial’s integrity or affect the verdict.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "State of Maine v. Desrosiers" on Justia Law

In May 2021, Ronald A. Harding lived with his girlfriend, her three children, and their infant son. On May 31, 2021, Harding was holding the infant when the child became unresponsive and later died. Medical examinations revealed that the infant suffered from a fatal brain injury consistent with non-accidental trauma, specifically shaken impact syndrome. Harding was arrested on June 4, 2021, and charged with manslaughter. He was later indicted by a grand jury on one count of manslaughter.The trial took place over four days in early 2023. The State presented testimony from medical professionals and experts who treated the infant and performed the autopsy. The defense argued that the death could have been caused by COVID-19 or an earlier injury, presenting testimony from their own expert, Dr. Jane Turner. The jury found Harding guilty of manslaughter. Harding's motions for a judgment of acquittal and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict were denied by the trial court.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. Harding argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction and that the State committed prosecutorial error during its closing argument. The court held that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find Harding guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also found that Harding had waived his prosecutorial error argument by withdrawing his request for a curative instruction during the trial. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "State of Maine v. Harding" on Justia Law

In May 2021, Ronald A. Harding lived with his girlfriend, her three children, and their infant son. On May 31, 2021, Harding was holding the infant when the child became unresponsive and later died. Medical examinations revealed that the infant suffered from a fatal brain injury consistent with non-accidental trauma, specifically shaken impact syndrome. Harding was arrested on June 4, 2021, and charged with manslaughter. A grand jury indicted him on June 30, 2021. During the trial, the State presented evidence from medical professionals and experts who testified that the infant's injuries were caused by traumatic head injury while in Harding's care.The Penobscot County Unified Criminal Docket oversaw the initial trial. Harding moved for a judgment of acquittal after the State rested its case and renewed the motion after the close of evidence, but the trial court denied both motions. The jury found Harding guilty of manslaughter, and the court entered a judgment of conviction on September 19, 2023. Harding was sentenced to fifteen years, with all but eight and a half years suspended, and six years of probation. Harding appealed, arguing insufficient evidence and prosecutorial error during closing arguments.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. The court held that sufficient evidence supported the manslaughter conviction, noting that the jury was entitled to resolve conflicting evidence and determine witness credibility. The court also found that Harding waived his prosecutorial error argument by withdrawing his request for a curative instruction and not moving for a mistrial. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "In re Children of Destiny H." on Justia Law

Steven Edwards was convicted by a jury of eighteen counts of possession of sexually explicit material involving minors under 12 years old. The charges stemmed from images found on his computer during a search executed with a warrant. Edwards challenged the court's decisions on several motions, including a motion to suppress evidence, arguing the warrant was based on stale information, and motions for judgment of acquittal, mistrial, and a new trial.The Somerset County court denied Edwards's motion to suppress, finding that the information supporting the warrant was not stale. The court noted that the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit had received multiple tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about uploads from Edwards's IP address. The court also found that consumers of child pornography often retain such material for long periods, supporting the warrant's issuance.At trial, the court heard testimony from law enforcement and forensic experts. Edwards moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing insufficient evidence that he possessed or accessed the images with intent to view them. The court denied the motion, and the jury found Edwards guilty on all counts. Edwards's post-trial motions for a mistrial and a new trial were also denied, despite his argument that the prosecutor's comments during closing arguments were prejudicial.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court's decisions. The court held that the information supporting the search warrant was not stale and that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find Edwards guilty. The court also found that the trial court's curative instruction was adequate to address any potential prejudice from the prosecutor's comments, and there was no abuse of discretion in denying the motions for a mistrial and a new trial. View "State of Maine v. Edwards" on Justia Law

Michael T. Smith was convicted of twelve counts of unlawful sexual contact after a jury trial. The charges stemmed from allegations that Smith sexually abused his stepdaughter between 2011 and 2014 and his daughter between 2011 and 2019. The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office received a report in September 2019, leading to separate interviews of the victims. Smith’s stepdaughter disclosed abuse, resulting in an initial indictment. Later, Smith’s daughter also reported abuse, leading to a superseding indictment with additional charges.The trial court denied Smith’s motion for relief from prejudicial joinder, which sought to separate the charges involving his stepdaughter from those involving his daughter. The court found the charges were connected by time, purpose, and modus operandi, and that evidence of abuse of one victim would be admissible in a trial concerning the other. The court also allowed Kathy Harvey-Brown, a forensic interviewer with a background in social work, to testify as an expert on delayed disclosure of child sexual abuse, despite Smith’s objections regarding her qualifications.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court’s decisions. The court held that the joinder of charges was proper and did not result in undue prejudice, as the evidence of abuse was interconnected and would be admissible in separate trials. The court also found that Harvey-Brown was qualified to testify based on her extensive training, experience, and familiarity with the relevant research. The court concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in either denying the motion for relief from joinder or in allowing the expert testimony. View "State of Maine v. Smith" on Justia Law

Matthew A. Dennis was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and violation of a condition of release following a jury-waived trial. The case arose when Officer Seth Burnes responded to a report of a disturbance at 68 Elm Street, where Dennis, who was under bail conditions to avoid contact with the victim, was found arguing with the victim. During the incident, Dennis was seen with a jacket containing a black-powder pistol, which appeared to have been fired. Dennis was arrested and charged accordingly.The trial court (Penobscot County, A. Murray, J.) denied Dennis's motion to suppress evidence and proceeded with a bench trial. During cross-examination, it was revealed that the pistol had been test-fired by police six days before the trial, and this information had been uploaded to the ShareFile platform used for discovery. Dennis's counsel argued that the late disclosure was unfair and requested dismissal or exclusion of the evidence. The court found no discovery violation but acknowledged the late disclosure and allowed Dennis to review the test-firing video and offered the opportunity to conduct his own test-firing, which Dennis declined.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court's judgment. The court held that there was no discovery violation as the test result was provided within two days of its existence and before the trial. The court found that the trial court's remedy, which included allowing Dennis to review the test-firing video and offering the opportunity for his own test, was appropriate and did not deprive Dennis of a fair trial. The court concluded that the trial court's actions sufficiently mitigated any potential prejudicial effect of the late test-firing. View "State of Maine v. Dennis" on Justia Law

Pedro Rosario was convicted of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs in 2021 and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, with ten years suspended, four years of probation, and a $25,000 fine. His conviction was affirmed by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 2022. In April 2023, Rosario filed a motion to vacate the judgment and for a new trial, alleging that a juror was improperly seated and biased. The State accepted the allegations as true for the purposes of the motion.The trial court held a non-testimonial hearing and found that during jury selection, Rosario’s counsel wanted to voir dire Juror 23, but another juror was brought forward by mistake. Juror 23 was selected as an alternate but was mistakenly seated as a juror when another juror was dismissed. Rosario’s attorney did not object at the time. Later, Rosario’s attorney discovered that Juror 23 had attended high school with the District Attorney but had not spoken to him since. The trial court determined that this information was not newly discovered evidence and denied Rosario’s motion for a new trial.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court’s decision. The court held that Rosario’s motion was untimely under M.R.U. Crim. P. 33, as the information about Juror 23 was known before the trial concluded. The court also found no evidence of juror bias or misconduct that would warrant a new trial. The court concluded that Rosario received a fair trial by an impartial jury and upheld the trial court’s judgment. View "State of Maine v. Rosario" on Justia Law

In this case, the defendant was convicted of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact involving an eleven-year-old victim who frequently visited the defendant's home. The defendant admitted to engaging in sexual acts with the victim during a police interview. The defendant was charged by criminal complaint and later by indictment, to which he pleaded not guilty.The trial court denied the defendant's motions to suppress his statements made during the police interview, determining that he was not in custody and that his statements were voluntary. The court found that the interview was non-custodial, conducted in a conversational manner, and that the defendant was informed he could leave at any time. The court also found no evidence that the defendant's hearing issues rendered his statements involuntary.During the trial, the jury heard testimony from the victim and the detective, and the court admitted the recorded interview and text messages between the defendant and the victim. The prosecutor made statements during closing arguments about the victim's credibility and the meaning of emojis in the text messages, which the defendant argued were improper. The court provided curative instructions to the jury regarding the prosecutor's statements.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the trial court's judgment. The Court held that the trial court did not err in denying the motions to suppress, as the defendant was not in custody and his statements were voluntary. The Court also found that any prosecutorial errors during closing arguments were harmless and did not affect the defendant's substantial rights. The judgment of conviction was affirmed. View "State of Maine v. Farley" on Justia Law

Ernest B. Weidul was convicted of manslaughter and other charges in 2012. He later filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel. The justice who presided at Weidul’s trial and during the first two days of the post-conviction hearing retired before the hearing was completed, and a different justice presided during the third day of hearing and rendered a judgment denying the petition. Weidul appealed, arguing that the judgment should be vacated because the justice who rendered it did not observe the testimony of the witnesses who testified during the first two days of the hearing and did not permit Weidul to recall those witnesses except for questioning on areas not covered previously.The lower courts had denied Weidul's petition for post-conviction relief. The justice who presided over the first two days of the post-conviction hearing retired before the hearing was completed, and a different justice presided over the third day of the hearing and rendered the judgment denying the petition. Weidul appealed this decision, arguing that the second justice should not have been able to make a judgment without observing the testimony of the witnesses who testified during the first two days of the hearing.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed with Weidul, stating that there is no provision in the rules of procedure authorizing a justice who did not preside during disputed live testimony during a post-conviction hearing to adjudicate the credibility of the testimony over objection. The court found that the error was not harmless and vacated the judgment, remanding the case for additional proceedings. View "Weidul v. State" on Justia Law

The case involves Ricky Whitney, who was convicted for sexual exploitation of a minor. Whitney had sent messages to a minor, soliciting her to send explicit photographs. The minor, disturbed by the request, showed the messages to her mother, who then took over the conversation, pretending to be the minor. The mother sent a stock photo of a girl in shorts to Whitney, who then sent additional messages soliciting explicit photographs. The court found that the minor did not see these additional messages.The trial court in Penobscot County, Maine, found Whitney guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor and sentenced him to five years in prison. The court also revoked Whitney's probation in a separate matter and imposed the remaining five years of his suspended sentence, to run concurrently with the sentence for the conviction of sexual exploitation of a minor. Whitney appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction because the court did not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the minor received the solicitation to send explicit photographs.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court agreed with Whitney. The court found that the statute under which Whitney was convicted requires proof that the person being solicited is actually under the age of sixteen. The court stated that it is not sufficient that a defendant intended to solicit a minor; he must solicit a person who is in fact a minor. Because the trial court explicitly stated that it could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the minor received the solicitation, an element of the offense was missing. Therefore, the court found there was insufficient evidence to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Whitney committed the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor. The court vacated the judgment of conviction and remanded the case for entry of a judgment of acquittal. View "State v. Whitney" on Justia Law