While executing a search warrant for evidence of computer fraud, federal agents discovered child pornography on certain disks in the defendant’s home. Setting those disks aside, the agents continued their search for evidence of computer fraud. The Tenth Circuit affirmed…
The State convicted Bela Fritz of criminal drug charges and he was sentenced to prison using Bela Fritz’s criminal history. Then, during the prison intake process, a corrections officer discovered that the man was not Bela Fritz after all. The…
In this criminal appeal, the Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress based upon the stop being impermissibly prolonged without reasonable suspicion. The defendant had argued that, while the initial stop may have…
After pleading guilty to armed robbery, a juvenile defendant challenged his bindover based on a claim of judicial bias discovered after sentencing. The court of appeals vacated the conviction. Reversing, the supreme court held the court of appeals erred in…
In this post-conviction relief act appeal, the Court of Appeals held that the petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel challenges to his guilty plea were not procedurally barred even though he had not moved to withdraw his guilty plea in the criminal…
In an opinion emphasizing the importance of a clear record that a criminal defendant understands the consequences of waiving the right to counsel at sentencing, the Court of Appeals vacated a sentence entered without counsel for the defendant present. Although…
The criminal defendant appealed his murder conviction, arguing the district court erred by admitting the State’s expert testimony and in admitting evidence of prior acts. The Supreme Court reversed, agreeing on both counts. With respect to the expert testimony, the…
