93 results for 'court:"Wyoming Supreme Court"'.
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual abuse of a minor. Defendant's claims on appeal, such as that there was hearsay and prejudicial evidence admitted during trial, are without merit. The testimony admitted was all properly introduced and there is no error on the record that would justify reversal. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: S-23-0002, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly denied post-conviction relief to defendant regarding his sexual abuse convictions. Defendant moved for relief after one his victims recanted her trial testimony, but the circumstances around the victim recanting were not considered credible. She recanted while suffering from a mental health crisis and while not under oath, so the lower court properly deemed that her trial testimony while under oath was more reliable. Defendant raised no other arguments or evidence on appeal that would otherwise justify his request. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: S-23-0068, Categories: Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly determined the taxable value on a company's natural gas liquid production. The company says the final determination did not take into account certain deficiency fees it had to pay relating to a purchase agreement, but the language of that purchase agreement made it clear it would not influence the final taxable value total. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: S-22-0271, Categories: Tax
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly upheld the damages award in an employment dispute in which a doctor was sued for violating a non-compete clause with his former company when he opened his own cardiology office after being fired. The lower court found in favor of the former employer, but also determined the doctor was entitled to half of his deferred compensation without interest. The doctor challenged the lack of interest, but the arbitrator charged with making that determination has the discretion to decide if interest is appropriatea. There is nothing in that determination that suggests it was arbitrary or outside the arbitrator's authority. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: August 28, 2023, Case #: S-22-0290, Categories: Arbitration, Employment
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J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of attempted murder and assault stemming from a high-speed chase and shootout with police. Defendant claims that prosecutors committed misconduct when they presented testimony from experts regarding his competency and mental health, but the testimony was permissible and defendant was not prejudiced by their admittance during proceedings. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden , Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: S-22-0285, Categories: Competence, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Assault
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly granted around $21,000 in attorney fees to an accounting firm after it prevailed on its contract claims against a former employee. The fee-shifting provision of the contracts at issue authorized an award of attorney fees and costs. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: S-23-0028, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Fox finds that the lower court improperly changed the plan to eventually reunify the child and his mother to an adoption plan. The move was made after over a year of little progress on the mother's prior plan, but in its order, the lower court made no mention of efforts to try to reunite the mother with the child. Those findings need to be made before the adoption plan is warranted. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: S-23-0033, Categories: Family Law
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual abuse. Defendant claims on appeal that the trial court improperly allowed sexually explicit content as evidence and that the prosecutor wrongfully elicited testimony from defendant's victim, his daughter. But defendant has not shown how any of these alleged errors injected prejudice into proceedings, and there is no evidence they impeded on defendant's right to a fair trial. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: S-22-0267, Categories: Fair Trial, Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly sentenced defendant on drug convictions. Defendant claims that his two consecutive sentences violate double jeopardy rules, but the two sentences are derived from two separate offenses and two separate drug transactions. The rules of double jeopardy and the protections against them do not relate here and were not violated. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: S-23-0070, Categories: Drug Offender, Double Jeopardy
J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly issued a protective order on documents an individual was requesting from a hospital regarding medical malpractice claims. The documents requested relate to public funds and contain a government entity as a party, placing then under the definition of a public record not exempt from disclosure by the Wyoming Public Records Act. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: S-22-0286, Categories: Public Record, Medical Malpractice
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of nearly a dozen sex crimes against two minors. Defendant raises several issues on appeal, such as his trial counsel was ineffective and there was not enough evidence to support his convictions. While his counsel was unable to present certain text messages for the trial that defendant claims would have helped his defense, there is no evidence that actually prejudiced him. Evidence that was on record, however, was enough to justify the convictions. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: S-22-0156, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of animal cruelty after he shot three horses. He raises several alleged errors on appeal, such as that the lower court wrongfully admitted several pieces of evidence and allowed his wife to invoke spousal privilege in front of the jury, but has not shown how any of the alleged mistakes would have changed the outcome of the trial had they taken place differently. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: S-22-0255, Categories: Animal Cruelty
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request to correct his sentence regarding his sexual abuse of a minor convictions. Defendant's claims are barred because while he claims to challenge his sentence, he instead is offering only challenges to his underlying convictions. His appeal is further barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: S-23-0055 , Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of assault and battery stemming from a shooting incident. Defendant claims there was not enough evidence on the record to support his conviction, but there was reliable testimony from a witness that proved defendant was the shooter in question. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: S-22-0307, Categories: Assault, Battery, Witnesses
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request for a presentence
time served credit regarding his drug sentences. The lower court properly credited defendant with time served in two of his criminal cases, but that does not entitle him to time served in a separate third case. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: S-23-0072, Categories: Drug Offender, Sentencing
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly found in favor of a law office after it was sued with legal malpractice claims from an individual who says the law office mismanaged settlement funds and failed to file a suit in an underlying flooding dispute. There was no evidence brought forward that the law office breached its standard of care or caused anyone to suffer damages in underlying litigation. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: S-22-0243, Categories: Legal Malpractice
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly denied a motion to suppress evidence regarding defendants' drug convictions. They moved to suppress more than 300 pounds of marijuana found during a traffic stop, with defendants claiming the trooper pursued their car without probable cause. The pursuit and subsequent stop stemmed from expired registration on the vehicle, which is a well established justification for a traffic stop. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: S-22-0302, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Search
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly issued an order modifying a father's child support. The mother claims on appeal that the lower court did not have enough information before calculating the father's net income, and that the court incorrectly calculated her income as well. But all of the information used by the court, such as tax stubs and W-2 forms, were all up to date and supported the court's final calculations. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: S-22-0308, Categories: Family Law
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request to withdraw his guilty plea to manslaughter and burglary charges. He tried to withdraw his plea due to speedy trial concerns, but did not provide any meaningful information to support his concerns or why the plea should be taken back. And evidence on the record shows his right to a speedy trial was handled correctly and that no violations took place. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: S-22-0199, Categories: Plea, Speedy Trial, Manslaughter
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly found in favor of a trapper after a family sued him when his snares caught and killed the family's dogs. Under legal precedent, emotional distress claims stemming from loss of dogs are not compensable because dogs are property. The court cannot suddenly adopt a ruling allowing for emotional damages from the loss of a pet, as that rule would be best left to the legislature. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: S-22-0223, Categories: Emotional Distress
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly denied a motion to suppress evidence found a in car that led to a drug charge. The traffic stop that led to the drug find took place after defendant failed to signal a left turn and the officer smelled drugs in the car, so the stop passed legal muster. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: S-23-0016, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Kautz finds that the lower court properly divided marital property and granted a mother primary custody of two children in a divorce dispute. The division of property was calculated correctly based on evidence on the record, and it was not unreasonable for the lower court to determine that it was in the children's best interests to award primary custody to the mom. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: S-22-0264, Categories: Family Law
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court improperly made a temporary child support order a final order in a custody dispute. The lower court did so at the request of the mother, but did not provide the father with his allotted 20 days to respond to it. The order was also made final without the court acquiring enough financial information from the two parties to support the decision. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: S-22-0272, Categories: Family Law
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual abuse. Defendant claims the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct by misusing testimony during opening and closing statements, but there is no evidence that the testimony was improperly used. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: S-22-0249, Categories: Prosecutorial Misconduct, Sex Offender
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly denied defendants' motion to suppress evidence regarding their drug charges. They claim that a police dog was allowed to sniff the outside of their cars without probable cause, but a dog sniff outside of a car is not considered a full search. As a result, it cannot be considered an intrusion. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: S-22-0250, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court ruled properly in part in a dispute over a noncompete provision in an employment contract. While the lower court went beyond its discretion by awarding attorney fees without a proper explanation, the lower court properly found that the noncompete provision should be voided as a matter of public policy. Affirmed in part.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: S-22-0238, Categories: Employment, Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Gray finds that the lower court properly denied workers' compensation benefits to an individual who says she had to seek treatment for her upper back and arms after she twisted her back moving a wheeled coal crusher. The individual did not meet her burden of showing that her spine-related injuries were related to her workplace accident or that they could be covered by workers' compensation. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Gray , Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: S-22-0283, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly changed a permanency plan for two children from reunification to adoption. The lower court was presented with enough evidence before the record that it was in the best interest of the children to not return to their parents, including the fact that the parents could not provide adequate housing. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: S-22-0216, Categories: Family Law