What is the current state of the law on the credibility of witnesses in a sexual assault case?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Castro, G051730 (Cal. App. 2016):
Moreover, in reviewing the entire record, we accept any logical inferences the jury could have drawn from the circumstantial evidence because the jury, not the reviewing court, must be convinced of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Zamudio (2008) 43 Cal.4th 327, 357-358.) "'Conflicts and even testimony which is subject to justifiable suspicion do not justify the reversal of a judgment, for it is
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the exclusive province of the trial judge or jury to determine the credibility of a witness and the truth or falsity of the facts upon which a determination depends.'" (People v. Elliott (2012) 53 Cal.4th 535, 585.) And, a single witness's testimony is sufficient to support a conviction, unless that testimony "describes facts or events that are physically impossible or inherently improbable . . . . " (Ibid.)
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