143 results for 'cat:"Jury" AND cat:"Murder"'.
J. Anderson affirms the defendant's convictions first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying motions to strike a juror for cause and for a change of venue, since the juror did not express actual bias and the defendant failed to renew the venue motion following voir dire. The circumstances of the murder, namely the bombing of a clinic and shootings of staff members after repeated statements encouraging the murder of nurses, also support the inference that the defendant intended to kill his victims. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: A22-1340, Categories: Intent, jury, murder
J. Miller finds that defendant was properly convicted of counts including second degree murder and first degree feticide for a drive-by shooting that killed a woman and her unborn child. Defendant's motion for mistrial was correctly denied since he was not prejudiced by a sergeant's testimony about the contents of surveillance video that was inadvertently destroyed. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 2023KA0361, Categories: Criminal Procedure, jury, murder
J. Hardin-Tammons finds that the lower court properly found defendant guilty of murder and armed criminal action. The state presented sufficient evidence to prove he intended to shoot the victim given that her death was caused by a close-range shot to the head. Further, the court did not plainly err by not instructing the jury on the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hardin-Tammons, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: ED111322, Categories: Intent, murder, jury Instructions
J. Herndon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. Surveillance video shows defendant stabbed the victim in the neck on a Las Vegas street. Defendant fails to support his argument the victim threatened him with a gun, and an emotional outburst by the victim's family during a viewing of the video is no basis for mistrial or curative instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Herndon , Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 86208, Categories: Evidence, murder, jury Instructions
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J. Kemp finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder. An eyewitness saw defendant run from the area where the shooting took place and investigators recovered evidence from the residence where he hid, including ammunition, gunshot residue and the victim's DNA. All evidence supports the conviction, defendant's right to a speedy trial was not violated, and the prosecution gave valid, race-neutral reasons for exercising peremptory strikes of jurors. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Kemp , Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-342, Categories: Evidence, jury, murder
J. Greer finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder after stabbing her husband's paramour to death. Defendant contends a juror should have been struck for cause prior to trial, but the juror did not exhibit prejudice during selection. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Greer, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 21-0934, Categories: jury, murder
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for second-degree murder and employing a firearm. Officers testified that victim's wife called 911 after her husband ran from defendant's residence, bleeding and exclaiming he had been shot. A neighbor testified to the same events, and the weapon and shell casings were found in defendant's home. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: CR-23-188, Categories: Firearms, jury, murder
J. Moore reverses the defendant's convictions for first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder while committing a kidnapping and kidnapping to commit great bodily harm or terrorize, but remands her case for further proceedings on the kidnapping and felony murder charges. The state has provided evidence sufficient to support a reasonable inference that the defendant knew that a fake house showing she set up with the murder victim, a realtor, on behalf of her romantic partner and his friends was a setup for a kidnapping and murder plot, but the circumstances proved also support a reasonable inference that she believed the end goal of her partner's plan was a less serious crime than premeditated murder. The circumstantial evidence used to support her convictions, therefore, was insufficient to sustain her convictions for first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder under an aiding-and-abetting theory of liability. Additionally, the district court issued impermissible hybrid jury instructions, combining accomplice liability and the underlying elements into a single instruction which misstated the law by allowing the jury to convict the defendant of kidnapping without reaching the issue of liability under an aiding-and-abetting theory. These erroneous instructions were also not harmless. The defendant's other arguments regarding jury instructions and sufficiency of evidence fail. Reversed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: A22-0163, Categories: murder, Kidnapping, jury Instructions
J. Larsen finds the trial court properly refused to hold a Remmer hearing when it was informed some jurors used their cell phones during deliberations. There was no evidence to indicate the jurors sought outside information related to the case. Meanwhile, the trial court properly accepted a partial verdict because although the jury foreperson told the court deliberations had broken down, the unanimity on several counts of the indictment allowed defendant to be convicted on those counts and was confirmed by a polling of the individual jurors. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Larsen, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 22-2041, Categories: jury, murder
J. Moeller finds that the district court properly denied defendant's motion for a new trial for first-degree murder after he alleged that a juror had been asleep during part of the original trial. The district court observed the juror briefly nodded off and was promptly aroused by a bailiff, while defendant failed to provide clear and convincing evidence of juror misconduct. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 49266, Categories: jury, murder
J. Mays finds security camera footage showing defendant's vehicle in the vicinity of the crime scene, along with eyewitness testimony about the shooting, was sufficient for the jury to convict him on complicity murder and weapons charges. Meanwhile, the trial court properly admitted the detective's testimony about possible motives for the crime discussed by police prior to defendant's arrest. Defendant's attorney was able to fully cross-examine the detective to avoid any confusion on the part of the jury about the timeline of events in the case. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4791, Categories: Evidence, jury, murder
J. Carbullido finds the trial court did not properly convict defendant of murder, as it did not hold a evidentiary hearing after reports of possible juror misconduct. One juror had mentioned knowing defendant had previously been incarcerated and the trial judge did not begin an investigation or give curative instructions. Vacated.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Carbullido, Filed On: December 27, 2023, Case #: CRA22-10, Categories: Evidence, jury, murder
J. Freyre finds the failure by the trial court to include a complicity instruction during defendant's trial on a murder charge constituted a structural error. While the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, it found he did not use a deadly weapon, which is entirely inconsistent with the state's theory of the case that defendant was the shooter. Therefore, the state failed to prove every element of the murder charge and defendant's conviction must be vacated.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Freyre, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 2023COA121, Categories: murder, jury Instructions
J. Durrant finds that the district court properly dismissed defendant's petition for post-conviction relief on a murder conviction for killing a fellow inmate. Evidence of improper communications between the judge and jurors during sentencing was newly discovered in 2012 but he did not file his petition until more than five years later in 2018. The failure of his initial post-conviction counsel to interview jurors does not excuse his failure to file his petition within one year of discovering the improper communications. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Supreme Court, Judge: Durrant, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 20180788, Categories: Death Penalty, jury, murder
J. Boggs finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Defendant failed to show that his substantial rights were affected by the trial court's failure to give the jury an instruction on no duty to retreat. The trial court correctly gave the jury a sequential unanimity instruction on involuntary manslaughter as a lesser offense of murder. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0906, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, murder, jury Instructions
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's theory of self-defense. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on simple assault and defendant failed to show that the trial court committed any error in failing to charge the jury on the lesser offenses of felony or misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0802, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, murder, jury Instructions
J. McCool finds that this murder and kidnapping case must be remanded so that the lower court can issue an order "making specific findings of fact" as to defendant's juror-misconduct claim, which related to a juror's alleged relationship with a witness. Defendant's motion for new trial was denied by operation of law.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McCool, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: CR-20-0751, Categories: jury, murder, Kidnapping
J. Getty finds the lower court improperly conducted voir dire. Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting a man twice, killing him, after communicating in a chat room and meeting him at the victim’s apartment to have sex. Defendant argues there was bias on the jury since prospective jurors were not asked whether they were prejudiced against gay sexual relations. The instant court finds that due to the homosexual nature of the relationship between defendant and the victim, and because evidence of gay sexual relations was presented and discussed, the jury should have been questioned to identify any potential bias. The matter is remanded for further proceedings.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Getty, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 1898, Categories: jury, murder
J. Bacon finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a provocation jury instruction because the driver of the other vehicle involved in the shooting was not the victim, and even if he had been, erratic driving is insufficient to require such an instruction. Furthermore, although defendant had been threatened by the driver of the other vehicle and knew he had guns, there was a vehicle in between the two and no shots had been fired at the time defendant opened fire, all of which prevented the issue of a self-defense instruction. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Bacon, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-39211, Categories: Firearms, murder, jury Instructions
J. Southwick finds the district court properly denied the state defendant a writ of habeas corpus. Charged with murder and a number of other offenses, defendant claims that retrial after a mistrial was declared is barred because a juror poll showed that 10 would acquit on four of five counts. Certain issues must be reviewed before the circuit could answer whether acquittal was effective on those four counts. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Southwick , Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 22-30310, Categories: Habeas, jury, murder
J. Mays finds the trial court did not prejudice the jury against defendant when it informed the jurors about grand jury proceedings and used the phrase "more likely than not that a defendant did commit the crime." The court followed that phrase with an appropriate explanation of probable cause and reiterated to the jury defendant was innocent until proven guilty. Meanwhile, text messages that implicated defendant in both robberies and her admission to police that she shot the victim "because she was scared" was sufficient to convict her of all the crimes with which she was charged. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4306, Categories: Evidence, jury, murder
J. Anderson partially affirms the defendant's first-degree murder conviction. The district court did not abuse its discretion in prohibiting the defendant from asserting the affirmative defense of entrapment, since his assertion of the defense was untimely and he provided only minimal facts in support of it. His first-degree and second-degree murder convictions are both supported by sufficient evidence, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying his request for jury instruction on lesser-included offenses, but his second-degree murder conviction was erroneous since it was a lesser-included offense. Affirmed in part.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: A22-1273, Categories: Criminal Procedure, murder, jury Instructions
Per curiam, the appellate division properly dismissed a prospective juror who stated she may become distracted during defendant's second-degree murder trial. Meanwhile, the state's firearms expert possessed the relevant background and degrees, and the court properly refused to instruct the jury on manslaughter because the victim had been shot in the face with a shotgun from less than six feet away. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: KA 18-01613, Categories: jury, murder, Experts