Trial Decisions—Credibility Determinations

A jury's verdict is reviewed by determining if substantial evidence supports the verdict.  With respect to the crucial matter of witness credibility, "[t]he jury is the sole judge . . . .  [I]nconsistencies [in witness testimony] do not make [the] testimony inherently incredible.  'Only in those rare cases where the story told is so inherently improbable or so nullified by internal self-contradictions that no fair-minded person could believe it may we say that no firm foundation exists for the verdict based on it.'"  State v. Anderson, 211 Mont. 272, 294–95, 686 P.2d 193, 205 (1984).