State v. Barnett

Judge Timmons-Goodson

dissenting.

Respectfully, I dissent. While I believe that the evidence presented by the State was sufficient to permit the jury to find that Mr. Hightower was murdered during the commission of an armed robbery, I do not believe that the evidence was sufficient to demonstrate that defendant perpetrated these crimes. Therefore, the trial court should have allowed defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder.

A motion to dismiss is properly denied only “[i]f there is substantial evidence — whether direct, circumstantial, or both — to support a finding that…