The Utah Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in State v. Moa, 2012 UT 28, a criminal case involving the withdrawal of a no contest plea. The court considered whether the court of appeals had correctly concluded that the defendant’s motion to withdraw that plea was properly denied. Id. ¶ 32. In addressing that issue, the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Criminal Law
Subscribe to Criminal Law RSS FeedUtah Court of Appeals – State v. Heimuli – Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Court of Appeals OpinionsThe court of appeals recently issued its opinion in State v. Heimuli, 2012 UT App 69. The court considered whether defense counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to introduce expert testimony concerning the reliability of an eyewitness identification. Id. ¶ 3. What makes the issue somewhat unique was that, at the time of trial, a long line of… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – State v. Prion – Double Jeopardy in Sentencing
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsToday, the Utah Supreme Court issued an opinion authored by Justice Lee in State v. Prion. Because we were counsel in this case, we will not provide any commentary except to note that the criminal law bar may find interesting the discussion of both Rule 22(e) and the Double Jeopardy Clause in the sentencing context. The… Continue Reading
Order Granting Petition for Writ of Certiorari – State v. Simons
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Court of Appeals Opinions, Utah Supreme Court NewsThe Utah Supreme Court last month issued a writ of certiorari in State v. Simons on the question of “whether the court of appeals erred in affirming the district court’s denial of Petitioner’s motion to suppress evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds.” The court of appeals opinion can be found here. A copy of the order granting the… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari – Vorher v. Henriod
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Court of Appeals Opinions, Utah Supreme Court NewsThe Utah Supreme Court has agreed to review the Utah Court of Appeals’ opinion in Vorher v. Henriod, 2011 UT App 199, to address the following issue: “Whether the court of appeals erred in denying Petitioner’s request for extraordinary relief challenging the imposition of a more severe penalty following a de novo trial on appeal… Continue Reading
Utah Court of Appeals – State v. Wickward – Utah Should Abandon Anders
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Court of Appeals OpinionsIn State v. Wickward, 2011 UT App 379, the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment for a felony conviction and a misdemeanor conviction after it determined that the defendant’s appellate brief “objectively demonstrate[d]” that the issues raised on appeal were “wholly frivolous.” Id., ¶ 1. The court relied on the Anders procedure to affirm the… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – 2011 Petitions for a Writ of Certiorari
Posted in Criminal Law, Insurance Law, Tort Law, Utah Court of Appeals Opinions, Utah Supreme Court NewsBetween January and August, the Utah Supreme Court has adjudicated 67 petitions for a writ of certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals. The court granted 7 petitions and denied 60 petitions. The court granted petitions in the following cases: State v. Watkins, 2001 UT App 96, which held that the trial court did not… Continue Reading
Clopten Trial
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court NewsOn Friday, a jury found Deon Clopten guilty in his new trial. You may remember Mr. Clopten from a 2009 Utah Supreme Court opinion reversing his conviction and holding that the trial court had abused its discretion in excluding the testimony of an expert witness who would have explained to the jury the counterintuitive problems with eyewitness identifications. Aaron… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – Johnson v. State
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsLast Friday, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a petition for post-conviction relief in Johnson v. State. A Deseret News article written by Emiley Morgan can be found here. A Salt Lake Tribune article written by Melinda Rogers can be found here. The unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Durham, details a procedural history… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – State v. Parduhn
Posted in Commentary on Utah Law, Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsIn State v. Parduhn–opinion found here–the Utah Supreme Court reaffirmed its holding in State v. Burns that local governments are statutorily required to provide indigent defendants, who are represented by private counsel, with funding for defense resources, including experts and investigators. According to the court, the Utah Indigent Defense Act (Act)–Utah Code sections 77-32-1 to… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court News
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsAs reported by Tim Gurrister in the Ogden Standard-Examiner, the Utah Supreme Court has been asked to review the first conviction stemming from the injunction against Trece gang members in Ogden. You may recall that the ACLU previously challenged the gang injunction unsuccessfully in the Utah Supreme Court, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune… Continue Reading
Utah Supreme Court – State v. Walker
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Supreme Court OpinionsToday, the Utah Supreme Court issued State v. Walker. Because Linda Jones in our office handled the appeal, we will not provide commentary on the merits. Stephen Hunt’s article in the Salt Lake Tribune can be found here. Apart from the merits, we point you to the exchange between Justice Nehring and Justice Lee in… Continue Reading
Utah Court of Appeals – State v. Charles
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Court of Appeals OpinionsWe do not comment on our cases, but we do post them. A nice victory in the Utah Court of Appeals today – State v. Charles
Utah Court of Appeals on Preservation – State v. Prawitt
Posted in Criminal Law, Utah Appellate Practice, Utah Court of Appeals OpinionsLast Thursday, the Utah Court of Appeals issued State v. Prawitt. The case provides some important lessons about preservation and an issue possibly worthy of the attention of the Utah Supreme Court or the Utah Legislature. Mr. Prawitt was convicted of a number of driving and alcohol-related offenses after a police officer found him under the influence of alcohol… Continue Reading
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