## Facts

- Nichols was prosecuted by the State of Arkansas in circuit court for criminal conduct arising from a disputed incident.
- The State’s case relied on witness testimony and other evidence presented at trial to prove the charged offense(s) beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Nichols contested the State’s proof at trial, disputing key facts and the inferences the jury was asked to draw from the evidence.
- The jury returned a guilty verdict, and the circuit court entered a judgment of conviction and imposed sentence.
- Nichols appealed, challenging the conviction and arguing that the circuit court committed reversible error during the proceedings.
- The appeal required the Court of Appeals to review the trial record, the parties’ arguments, and the governing standards of review for the claims presented.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence at trial was sufficient to support Nichols’s conviction under the applicable standard of review.
2. Whether Nichols preserved the asserted errors for appellate review through timely and specific objections or motions in the circuit court.
3. Whether any alleged trial error, if established, required reversal or was harmless in light of the record as a whole.
4. What level of deference the appellate court owed to the jury’s credibility determinations and the circuit court’s discretionary rulings.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Arkansas affirmed the judgment of conviction.
- The court held that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, was sufficient for a rational factfinder to find the elements proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The court declined to grant relief on claims that were not properly preserved in the circuit court.
- The court rejected Nichols’s remaining assertions of reversible error, concluding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion and that the verdict would stand.

## Legal Principles

- On appellate review of sufficiency of the evidence, the court considers the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and affirms if substantial evidence supports the verdict.
- The jury is the sole judge of credibility and may accept or reject any portion of a witness’s testimony; an appellate court does not reweigh evidence or second-guess credibility choices.
- To obtain appellate review of alleged trial error, a defendant must make a timely, specific objection or motion in the circuit court; unpreserved claims are generally not considered.
- Many trial-management rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion, and reversal is warranted only when the appellant shows prejudicial error affecting substantial rights.
- Even where error is shown, an appellate court may affirm if the error was harmless in the context of the entire record.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed Nichols’s conviction, holding that the record contained substantial evidence supporting the jury’s verdict and that Nichols did not establish preserved, prejudicial trial error warranting reversal.


Nichols v. State, 2023 Ark. App. 12, 659 S.W.3d 289 (Ark. Ct. App. 2023)