Burden of Proof

Defendant appealed a decision from a Trial Judge of the Coventry Municipal Court sustaining a violation of R.I. Gen. Laws 1956 § 31-15-16 (“use of emergency breakdown lane for travel”). Defendant was involved in an accident on Arnold Road, where there was a single lane of travel and a breakdown lane. When the citing officer arrived at the scene, Defendant’s vehicle was positioned in the breakdown lane after colliding with a vehicle that was turning into a gas station. Defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to prove that she was operating her vehicle in the breakdown lane at the time of the accident. The Appeals Panel noted that the Trial Judge properly inferred that Defendant had been operating in the breakdown lane based on the positioning of the vehicles at the time the citing officer arrived at the scene and on Defendant’s admission that she had been driving. Accordingly, the Appeals Panel found that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the charged violation. Accordingly, the Appeals Panel denied Defendant’s appeal and sustained the charged violation.

State of Rhode Island v. Nathalie Fiske, No. M17-0002 (April 16, 2018).pdf