Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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

/ July 18, 2026

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.

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

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.