State of Utah v.Thompson

State of Utah v.Thompson

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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State of Utah,

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

Darwin J. Thompson,

Defendant and Appellee.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20020144-CA

F I L E D

(February 6, 2003)
 

2003 UT App 24

 

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Fourth District, Provo Department

The Honorable Gary D. Stott

Attorneys: Mark L. Shurtleff and Laura B. Dupaix, Salt Lake City, for Appellant

Gary H. Weight, Provo, for Appellee

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Before Judges Bench, Davis, and Orme.

ORME, Judge:

Although the magistrate found that Defendant assaulted Ms. Christensen, he held "[t]hat the State failed to carry its burden to show that the unlawful act committed by the [D]efendant . . . was in retaliation for anything done by the Victim . . . as a witness or informant."

Under the circumstances, Defendant's motive is a matter for inference rather than direct proof. The State's burden at the preliminary hearing was not "to show that the unlawful act . . . was in retaliation for anything done by the Victim . . . as a witness or informant." Rather, it was merely to show probable cause to believe that such was the case. See State v. Clark, 2001 UT 9,¶10, 20 P.3d 300.

Given the magistrate's obligation to "'view all evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and [to] draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the prosecution,'" id. (quoting State v. Hester, 2000 UT App 159,¶7, 3 P.3d 725, cert. denied, 9 P.3d 170 (Utah 2000)), we reverse the dismissal. In view of Defendant's history with Ms. Christensen, including her involvement as the complaining witness in Defendant's criminal case and as the plaintiff in related civil litigation, it is reasonable to infer that Defendant's assault on her was "in retaliation for [something] done by [her] as a witness or informant." Utah Code Ann. § 76-8-508(2)(a) (Supp. 2002). Therefore, probable cause exists to believe that Defendant committed the crime with which he was charged. See Clark, 2001 UT 9 at ¶10. We remand with instructions to reinstate the charge and bind Defendant over for trial.

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Gregory K. Orme, Judge

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I CONCUR:

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Russell W. Bench, Judge

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I CONCUR IN THE RESULT:

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James Z. Davis, Judge