Justia Wyoming Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of four counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree soliciting to engage in illicit sexual relations, attempt to commit sexual abuse o a minor in the second degree, and battery, holding that there was no abuse of discretion or cumulative error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting hearsay evidence in violation of Wyo. R. Evid. 802; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence in violation of Wyo. R. Evid. 403; and (3) because there was no error, there was no basis for Defendant's claim that evidentiary errors cumulatively deprived him of a fair trial. View "Munda v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition filed under the Post-Conviction Determination of Factual Innocence Act alleging that he was factually innocent of three convictions because the victim recanted her trial testimony, holding that the district court did not clearly err.After he was convicted of five counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor involving two victims Appellant petitioned the district court asserting that he was factually innocent based on the victim's recantation. After a hearing, the district court found that Appellant did not offer clear and convincing evidence of his innocence and denied the petition on the merits. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no basis for this Court to disturb the district court's ruling. View "Shawn v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence and the order of the district court denying Defendant's motion for a sentence reduction and correction, holding that there was no error.Defendant was convicted of six counts of aggravated child abuse and sentenced to concurrent prison terms of four to eight years on each count. In his motion for a sentence reduction and correction Defendant argued that his sentence was illegal on several grounds. The district court denied the motion. On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things, that the court failed adequately to consider probation and that his sentence was further illegal on several grounds. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the record did not support Defendant's claim that the district court failed to consider a sentence of probation; (2) the presentence investigation report's lack of a recommendation on probation did not render Defendant's sentence illegal; and (3) Defendant's sentence was not cruel or unusual. View "Martinson v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of attempted murder, aggravated assault and battery, and other charges arising from a high-speed car purist and shootout with law enforcement officers, holding that the State did not commit prosecutorial misconduct.On appeal, Defendant argued that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by presenting certain statements and information obtained from psychologists who conducted his competency and mental illness or deficiency evaluations. The Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed, holding that the record disclosed no gross prosecutorial impropriety that deprived Defendant of his right to a fair trial or attempt to persuade the trial court wrongly to convict him. View "Adams v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to correct illegal sentence, holding that the district court did not err by not awarding sentencing credit for time spent on probation and for time spent in substance abuse treatment as a condition of probation.Defendant pled guilty to felony driving under the influence. The district court suspended Defendant's suspended in favor of probation. The court later revoked Defendant's probation for violations of conditions of probation. Less than one year later, the court again revoked Defendant's probation. Defendant subsequently filed a letter that the district court construed as a motion to correct an illegal sentence, requesting credit for time spent in an inpatient treatment facility. The district court denied the request. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under established precedent, the district court did not err in finding that Defendant was not entitled to credit for the time he participated in his treatment program. View "Hiltner v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction on twenty-one counts related to his sexual abuse of his daughter AF, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.At issue was whether the district court abused its discretion in admitting a sexually explicit photograph of AF's mother, Mrs. Freer, and a pornographic father-daughter incest video under Wyo. R. Evid. 404(b). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the sexually explicit photograph of Mrs. Freer and the pornographic incest video; (2) Defendant failed to demonstrate that alleged prosecutorial misconduct denied him his right to a fair trial. View "Freer v. Wyoming" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion.In his motion to correct an illegal sentence, Appellant argued that his two sentences for delivery of a controlled substance should be concurrent because the charges appeared in the same charging document, arose from the same arrest, and were tried under the same district court docket number. The district court denied the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the two charges for delivery of methamphetamine were separate offenses arising from different transactions; and (2) the trial court did not violate double jeopardy protections by entering consecutive sentences for the two offenses. View "Veatch v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of ten sex crimes against two sisters, A.S. and T.S., holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.The State charged Defendant with a total of twenty-two crimes against A.S. and T.S. The jury convicted him of ten of the charges, and the district court sentenced him to seventy-one to eighty-five years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant failed to establish that the State violated his right to due process of law under Brady or Giglio; (2) Defendant did not show that his counsel performed deficiently or that his defense was prejudiced by counsel's actions at trial; and (3) the State presented sufficient evidence to support Defendant's convictions for the first-degree sexual assault against T.S. View "Mills v. State" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) Defendant abandoned his argument that the district court erred when it allowed his wife to invoke spousal privilege in the presence of the jury; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted testimony and evidence from a witness who was not disclosed pretrial; (3) Defendant was not prejudiced by prosecutorial misconduct; and (4) Defendant failed to satisfy the plain error test as to his argument that the district court violated his right against self-incrimination under the Federal and Wyoming Constitutions when it ordered him to participate in the preparation of a presentence investigation as a condition of his bond. View "Berry v. State" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion for sentence reduction and motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying either motion.Defendant entered an Alford plea to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor child in the third degree and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of three to five years' incarceration. Defendant later filed his second motion for sentence reduction and a motion to correct an illegal sentence. The district court denied both motions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's motion for sentence reduction and his motion to correct an illegal sentence. View "Dillard v. State" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law