State v. James Stevens, 20-172

On December 10, 2016, Jasper Williams confronted James Stevens outside a first-floor liquor store after an Instagram message; a fight ensued and Stevens stabbed Williams multiple times (autopsy showed 16 stab wounds); Williams died.
Stevens fled Rhode Island and was arrested in Texas; he was indicted for first-degree murder and tried in Providence County Superior Court in April 2019.
At trial the jury was instructed on first- and second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and self-defense; the jury convicted Stevens of the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter.
Stevens did not file a Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal or a Rule 33 motion for a new trial in the Superior Court challenging sufficiency of the evidence or arguing juror error.
On direct appeal Stevens argued the jury erred in rejecting his self-defense claim and asked this Court to review the sufficiency of the evidence despite his failure to preserve the issue below.
The Supreme Court affirmed, holding the claim was waived under the raise-or-waive rule and declining to apply any plain-error exception.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether this Court may review on direct appeal the jury’s rejection of Stevens’s self-defense claim / the sufficiency of the evidence when Stevens did not move for judgment of acquittal or a new trial in the trial court	Stevens waived the issue by failing to present it to the trial justice; factual determinations are for the jury and trial court to address first	Stevens asks this Court to review the jury’s factual determination and the sufficiency of the evidence despite nonpreservation; cites a statute for a right to direct appeal and requests adoption of plain-error review	The claim is waived under the raise-or-waive rule; because Stevens did not file Rule 29/33 motions the trial justice never ruled on sufficiency and this Court will not review the jury’s factual findings; affirmed

State v. Hak, 963 A.2d 921 (R.I. 2009) (articulating the raise-or-waive rule for appellate review)
State v. Bouffard, 945 A.2d 305 (R.I. 2008) (narrow exception to raise-or-waive for novel constitutional errors)
State v. Carpio, 43 A.3d 1 (R.I. 2012) (held sufficiency challenge waived where defendant failed to move for acquittal or new trial)
State v. Lynch, 854 A.2d 1022 (R.I. 2004) (standard for motions for judgment of acquittal and appellate review)
State v. Clark, 974 A.2d 558 (R.I. 2009) (deference to jury as factfinder; appellate court will not substitute its view of the evidence)
State v. Long, 61 A.3d 439 (R.I. 2013) (describing standard for reviewing a trial justice’s denial of a judgment of acquittal)