Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Cases
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Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

UtahCivil ProcedureCriminalDUI
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

American Fork City v. Barbour — Nail-Biting During Baker Observation Period Required Clock Reset, Making Trial Counsel Ineffective for Not Moving to Suppress Breath Test

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The Utah Court of Appeals vacated a DUI conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding that trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to move to suppress a breath test after bodycam footage showed the defendant biting his fingernails continuously for over two minutes during the Baker pre-test observation period — a question of first impression establishing that fingernail contact constitutes introduction of a foreign object requiring the Baker clock to restart.

UtahCriminalEvidenceIneffective Assistance of Counsel
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

State v. Canal-Medina — Utah Rule 404(c) Requires No Similarity Between Prior Child Molestation Acts and Charged Offense

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The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a child, holding that Utah Rule of Evidence 404(c) requires no similarity between prior child molestation acts and the charged offense for propensity evidence to be admissible, and that trial counsel was not ineffective for retaining a juror whose troubling statements during voir dire were followed by an audible chuckle and an express affirmation of the presumption of innocence.

UtahCriminalCriminal ProcedureEvidence
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

State v. Talbert — Utah Court of Appeals Rejects Variance, Rule 404(b), and Ineffective-Assistance Challenges to Sexual Abuse Convictions

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The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed six sexual-abuse convictions, holding that uncharged grooming conduct is admissible as intrinsic evidence outside Rule 404(b), that a charging variance between the information and the acts proven at trial raises sufficiency and notice issues—not jurisdictional ones—and that failure to seek a trial continuance upon discovering the variance waives procedural-due-process claims.

UtahAppellate ProcedureCriminalIneffective Assistance of Counsel
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

State v. Perez — Jurors’ Brief Hands in Voir Dire Did Not Compel For-Cause Removal; Ineffective Assistance Claim Fails

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The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed convictions for aggravated burglary and related charges, holding that trial counsel was not ineffective in declining to challenge for cause three jurors who raised their hands to leading voir dire questions and then affirmed their ability to follow jury instructions in response to the prosecutor’s follow-up.

UtahCriminalIneffective Assistance of CounselPost-Conviction Relief
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

Miranda v. State — Post-Conviction Court Erroneously Presumed Prejudice From Unanimity Instruction Failure; Convictions Reinstated

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The Utah Court of Appeals reversed a grant of post-conviction relief, holding that the post-conviction court improperly applied the Chadwick presumption of prejudice to an ineffective-assistance claim; under Strickland, Miranda failed to show a reasonable probability that a proper unanimity instruction would have changed the verdict.

UtahCriminalEvidenceIneffective Assistance of Counsel
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

State v. Collard — Convictions Reversed After Counsel Failed to Redact Domestic-Violence Finding from Protective Order Exhibit

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The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed denial of a motion to arrest judgment on protective-order-violation convictions — holding that the State sufficiently proved the permanent order’s terms through testimony and a docket entry — but reversed all three convictions on ineffective-assistance grounds because defense counsel failed to seek redaction of a domestic-violence finding in the temporary protective order admitted as a trial exhibit, a finding the court had already ruled irrelevant and whose admission undermined confidence in the verdict.

UtahFamily LawIneffective Assistance of CounselJuvenile Law
Court of Appeals of Utah
Uncategorized

In re A.H. — Utah Court of Appeals Again Vacates TPR Order After Finding All Three of Father’s Trial Attorneys Rendered Ineffective Assistance

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For the third time, the Utah Court of Appeals vacated an order terminating Father’s parental rights as to two young children, holding that all three of his trial attorneys — retained counsel and two appointed counsel — rendered ineffective assistance by failing to file pretrial disclosures and seek a continuance, depriving Father of the ability to call sibling witnesses whose testimony bore directly on the best-interest determination; the court also held that Utah’s IAC right extends to retained attorneys who never formally enter an appearance.

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