Defendant argues on appeal that this Court should reverse all of his convictions at trial because the Victim is not a credible witness and her testimony was internally inconsistent and inconsistent with other witness testimony.
“This is a wholly unproductive (and unavailing) line of argument. The circumstantial evidence rule, the destructive contradictions doctrine, and the corroboration rule have all been rejected, and any purported inconsistency in the testimony was an issue for the jury to resolve. The fact-finder, not the appellate court, decides matters relating to the reliability, credibility, or weight afforded to the witnesses’ testimony.”
The convictions were affirmed on appeal.
State v. Hitchcock, SD35712, decided September 26, 2019.