US v. Rodrigeuz-Barrios, No. 07-1854
Conviction for committing a carjacking resulting in death is affirmed where: 1) the court properly denied defendant's motion for acquittal as the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that defendant had the intent to kill or seriously harm the victim when he took control of her car; 2) the court did not err in excluding tape recordings of the victim as the recordings did not contradict the victim's hearsay allegations of abuse; 3) the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow defendant to present expert witness testimony regarding the reliability of eyewitness identification; 4) the court did not abuse its discretion denying defendant's motion for a mistrial as the brief mention of the possibility of a polygraph examination did not warrant a mistrial; and 5) the court erroneously admitted certain statements made by the victim's friend and mother, but the error was harmless.
Read US v. Rodrigeuz-Barrios, No. 07-1854
Appellate Information
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Filed July 23, 2009
Judges
Before Torruella, Lipez, and Howard, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Lipez, Circuit Judge.
Counsel
For Appellant: G. Richard Strafer.
For Appellee: Vijay Shanker, United States Department of Justice.