Town of Smithfield v. Matthew Connole, C.A. No. T14-0014 (September 3, 2014)

Appeals Panel
09/03/2014

Town of Smithfield v. Matthew Connole, C.A. No. T14-0014 Colin B. Foote Act

Defendant appealed the trial magistrate’s imposition of sanctions under the Colin B. Foote Act (R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27-24) as an error of law, claiming that because two of the defendant’s prior moving offenses were on appeal they should not have counted toward sentence enhancement under the Act. The Appeals Panel considered the precedent of nearby jurisdictions and determined that the finality of the appellate process should not preclude the imposition of an enhanced penalty, suggesting that the proper avenue for relief would be a motion to stay the penalties. The Appeals Panel held that “prior convictions of this Tribunal on appeal with no final decision from the Appeals Panel do not prevent the imposition of sentence enhancement under § 31-27-24.” Accordingly, the Panel sustained the 12 month license suspension and denied the defendant’s appeal.

Town of Smithfield v. Matthew Connole, C.A. No. T14-0014 (September 3, 2014).pdf

Appeals Panel
09/03/2014

Town of Smithfield v. Matthew Connole, C.A. No. T14-0014 Credibility

Stop sign

Defendant appealed the decision of the trial magistrate sustaining the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-20-09 (obedience to stop sign). Defendant claimed that he came to a complete stop at the stop sign before turning a corner, and that the trial magistrate’s ruling was clearly erroneous because he credited the testimony of the officer over his own. However, the Appeals Panel held that only the finder of fact may asses the credibility of witnesses. Here, the trial magistrate chose to believe the officer’s testimony that he had an unobstructed and clear view of defendant when he slowed down but did not come to a complete stop. Accordingly, the Appeals Panel sustained the violation.

Town of Smithfield v. Matthew Connole, C.A. No. T14-0014 (September 3, 2014).pdf

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