46 Mass. App. Ct. 307 | Mass. App. Ct. | 1999
The sole issue on appeal is whether a District Court judge properly denied the motion of the defendant, William Russell, for a required finding of not guilty at the close of the Commonwealth’s case.
Although the defendant makes a cursory bow to the principle of review applicable to his situation — that we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, see Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 676-677 (1979); Commonwealth v. Bennett, 424 Mass. 64, 68 (1997); Commonwealth v. Rivera, 425 Mass. 633, 648 (1997) — his contentions fail to reflect or appreciate the breadth of this fundamental concept:
“ ‘[The] question is whether, after viewing the evidence [and all permissible inferences] in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.’ Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 677 (1979), quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-319 (1979). See Mass. R. Crim. P. 25(a), 378 Mass. 896 (1979). The question of guilt cannot be left to conjecture or surmise. Commonwealth v. Anderson, 396 Mass. 306, 312 (1985). Mere opportunity to commit the crime or presence at the scene is insufficient without other evidence. Commonwealth v. Cordle, 404 Mass. 733, 742 (1989), and cases cited. However, circumstantial evidence is competent to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Nadwomy, 396 Mass. 342, 354 (1985), cert, denied, All U.S. 904 (1986). An inference drawn from circumstantial evidence ‘need only be reasonable and possible; it need not be necessary or inescapable.’ Commonwealth v. Beckett, 373 Mass. 329, 341 (1977).”
Moreover, the evidence and the permissible inferences therefrom need only be sufficient to persuade “minds of ordinary intelligence and sagacity” of the defendant’s guilt. Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass, at 677. Fact finders are not “required to divorce themselves of common sense, but rather should apply to facts which they find proven such reasonable inferences as are justified in the fight of their experience as to the natural inclinations of human beings.” Commonwealth v. Arias, 29 Mass. App. Ct. 613, 618 (1990), quoting from United States v. Smith, 680 F.2d 255, 260 (1st Cir. 1982), cert, denied, 459 U.S. 1110 (1983). To the extent that conflicting inferences are possible from the evidence, it is for the fact finder to resolve the conflict. Commonwealth v. Wilborne, 382 Mass. 241, 245 (1981).
The jury could reasonably have found the following facts under these standards: On December 12, 1996, the defendant’s wife applied for and received a restraining order against the defendant commanding him to have no contact with her either directly or indirectly for one year. As of December 15, 1996, the defendant had received knowledge of the contents of the order. On December 15, 1996, the defendant was confined in the Bravo South 1 unit of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.
This circumstantial evidence against the defendant and the reasonable inferences therefrom, while not overwhelming, provided a satisfactory basis for a rational trier of fact to find the most critical element of the crime charged — the defendant’s violation of the no contact restraining order directly or through another beyond a reasonable doubt.
The jury, properly charged to draw “reasonable and natural” inferences from the evidence “based on [their] common sense and experience of life,” see Commonwealth v. Arias, 29 Mass. App. Ct. at 618, would not have had to resort to speculation or irrational thinking to find the defendant responsible for the four December 15 calls made to the wife from Bravo South 1 and for procuring the December 15 call to the wife made by the unknown caller, who had essentially sought to induce her, on the defendant’s behalf, to accept his collect calls which she had hitherto rejected. See Commonwealth v. Collier, 427 Mass. 385, 389 (1998) (when it is claimed that a third party committed an act that would have violated c. 209A, § 7, if committed by the defendant, there must be proof that the defendant intended the act that resulted' in the violation, but such proof may consist of reasonable and possible inferences drawn from circumstantial evidence).
Although the defendant implicitly invokes a familiar maxim (that “[w]hen the evidence tends equally to sustain either of two inconsistent propositions, neither of them can be said to be
Moreover, contrary to the defendant’s intimation, the Commonwealth’s proof in a criminal trial need not exclude all possible exculpatory interpretations of the evidence. See Commonwealth v. Merola, 405 Mass. 529, 533-534 (1989). Nor is it necessary for the Commonwealth to negate the possibility that someone else other than the defendant might have committed the crime charged. See Commonwealth v. Medeiros, 354 Mass. 193, 197 (1968); Commonwealth v. Casale, 381 Mass. 167, 175-176 (1980).
In this case, the fact finders did not have to make a leap of wild surmise with respect to the essential element at issue. There was no evidentiary gap in the Commonwealth’s case, merely a question of the weight to be accorded to a chain of circumstantial evidence logically, even if not infallibly, connecting the defendant to the offenses charged. See Commonwealth v. Donovan, 395 Mass. 20, 25 (1985). While the jury would
Judgment affirmed.
The defendant did not offer any evidence, and the case went to the jury after the denial of the motion for a required finding.
The defendant was charged with two counts of violation of a restraining order that the wife had applied for and received, pursuant to G. L. c. 209A, against the defendant on December 12, 1996. Count A of the complaint alleged a violation on December 12, 1996, and count B alleged a violation on December 15, 1996. The counts did not particularize the nature or means of the offenses. The judge allowed the defendant’s motion for a required finding
The defendant was incarcerated there from December 12 through December 18, 1996. The reason for his incarceration is not contained in the record, but the charges appear to have been unrelated to his domestic situation.
The other elements of the offense — the issuance and contents of the order, its effectiveness on December 15, 1996, and the defendant’s knowledge thereof — were established and not disputed as to the December 15 incident.
The defendant in fact concedes that “one possible hypothesis [arising from the evidence] is that the defendant used the caller to contact the alleged victim” on December 15.
As noted above, the defendant asserts (citing no authority) that “while one possible hypothesis is that the defendant used the caller to contact the alleged victim, it is just as likely and reasonable to assume it was someone who wanted the defendant in trouble.” No evidence supporting this speculative assumption appears in the record. The defendant makes no such argument as to the four collect calls made to the wife on December 15, 1996, from the very unit in which he was then incarcerated.