Evidence

The Defendant appealed the trial judge’s decision to sustain the charged violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-2.1 (refusal to submit to chemical test). The Defendant argued that the trial judge abused her discretion by ignoring material medical evidence. The Defendant had provided the court with an affidavit from his physician that the Defendant had undergone hip replacement surgery and walked with a “pronounced limp.” Because the doctor noted in his affidavit that he “[didn’t] know [whether] the hip replacement might have contributed to” the Defendant’s failure of the field sobriety tests, the Panel held that the trial judge properly found that the affidavit was irrelevant and immaterial. Accordingly, the Panel upheld the trial magistrate’s decision to sustain the charged violation.

State of Rhode Island v. Joseph Sousa, C.A. T08-0008 (October 1, 2008).pdf