Background
Deniek Mitchell was charged with two counts of second-degree battery after a traffic stop on Highway 7 in December 2023. The State alleged that Mitchell struck U.S. Forest Service Officer Mark Thomas while officers removed him from his vehicle and later struck x-ray technician Alisha Whitehead while she helped position him at a hospital. He was also charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting arrest.
At the bench trial, Mitchell maintained that a functional neurological disorder caused spasms and supplied legal justification for the contacts. Officer Thomas testified that Mitchell’s movements appeared purposeful and resistant rather than medically driven. After the State rested, defense counsel sought a directed verdict on the battery counts, but after presenting Mitchell’s testimony, counsel neither renewed that motion nor moved to dismiss before closing argument. The circuit court convicted Mitchell on all four charges.
The Court’s Holding
The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed without reaching the merits of Mitchell’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. In a nonjury criminal trial, Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 33.1 requires a defendant who moved for dismissal at the close of the State’s evidence to renew the motion at the close of all evidence and state specific grounds.
Mitchell did not renew his directed-verdict motion or make a dismissal motion after the defense case. Because Rule 33.1 is strictly construed, and a closing argument cannot substitute for the required motion, he waived appellate review of the sufficiency issue.
Key Takeaways
- A sufficiency challenge in an Arkansas bench trial must be raised at the close of all evidence.
- A motion made only after the prosecution rests must be renewed after the defense presents evidence.
- Closing argument does not preserve an unrenewed sufficiency challenge.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that Arkansas appellate courts will strictly enforce Rule 33.1’s timing requirements, even where the defendant has articulated a substantive defense at trial. Counsel must renew a properly specific dismissal motion at the close of all evidence to preserve a sufficiency-of-the-evidence claim for appeal.