144 results for 'judge:"Miller"'.
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for acquittal on assault and weapons charges. Although the gun he used during the confrontation with the victim was not loaded, he held it to her neck and threatened to "blow her brains out," which satisfied all elements of the offenses. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4362, Categories: Evidence, Robbery, Assault
J. Miller finds that even though defendant presented expert testimony the driver of the motorcycle was going well over the speed limit at the time she struck him in an intersection, her conviction for vehicular manslaughter was not against the weight of the evidence. The prosecution rebutted the evidence with several of its own witnesses who testified the motorcycle was traveling under the 35 miles-per-hour limit. Meanwhile, the trial court's questioning of defendant's expert witness cannot be considered "casting doubt" on the witness's credibility because nearly all of the questions were used to clarify testimony; therefore, the questioning did not deprive defendant of a fair trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4361, Categories: Evidence, Fair Trial, Vehicular Homicide
[Consolidated.] J. Miller finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress statements made during two custodial interviews with police during his involuntary manslaughter case. None of the officers who interviewed him used coercive behavior and he was free to leave at any time, and his claim he was under the influence of fentanyl at the time of his second interview is meritless. Meanwhile, defendant's admission he sold the victims drugs shortly before they died of overdoses was sufficient to support all of his convictions, as the victims were unaware they purchased fentanyl. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: November 27, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4252, Categories: Drug Offender, Evidence, Manslaughter
J. Miller-Lerman, on review, finds the court of appeals properly affirmed the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion for postconviction relief without evidentiary hearing from his conviction for child pornography possession. Defendant’s due process claim related to competence was not raised on direct appeal and was properly found to be procedurally barred. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Miller-Lerman, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: S-22-393, Categories: Competence, Due Process, Child Pornography
J. Miller finds the trial court properly found for the contractor in a dispute with homeowners over unpaid invoices and other conflicts in a failed agreement for home renovations. In part considering the fact that no binding contract existed between the parties, the trial court's order correctly offset damages awarded to the contractor from unpaid invoices with damages the homeowners proved they sustained, and there is no discernible error in its judgment. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 22-1460, Categories: Damages, Contract
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J. Miller finds that defendant was properly convicted of manslaughter. In this case, defendant confessed to stabbing the victim, the father of defendant's child, hours after his death, and eyewitnesses told police that defendant stabbed the victim during an argument over text messages he sent to another woman on defendant' s phone. Further, defendant's claim that her brother was the actual person who stabbed the victim was not supported by the evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 2023 KA 0332, Categories: Evidence, Manslaughter
J. Miller finds the trial court improperly awarded the father $25,000 in attorney fees in a dispute with the mother over paternity, parental responsibility and child support. The trial court's order is overturned in part because there is not enough evidence in the record to warrant such a reward with regard to the mother and father's respective financial resources and the mother's poor conduct during litigation. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: 22-2027, Categories: Family Law, Attorney Fees
J. Miller finds the trial court properly sentenced the 18-year-old defendant on his convictions for murder, assault with a firearm and shooting at an inhabited building. The court of appeals remanded the original 40-years-to-life sentence, which was changed to 25-to-life after certain enhancements were dismissed after considering defendant’s developmental issues. The trial court fully considered its non-dismissal of the firearm enhancement. Defendant does not claim the court abused its discretion and no abuse of discretion is found. According to the record, it is not reasonably probable the court would have reached a different result if it believed certain statutory mitigating circumstances also applied. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: A166053, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Sentencing
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to vacate an illegal or void sentence after he was resentenced for aggravated assault and other offenses. The trial court lacked jurisdiction at resentencing to increase defendant's sentence for one count of aggravated assault from a 10-year probation sentence to a 10-year imprisonment sentence. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: A23A0772, Categories: Sentencing, Assault
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly granted summary judgment and dismissed the motorist's claims against the insurer of a driver who allegedly caused an auto accident. The insurer did not establish that the policy holder "had the intent to deceive" when he said in the application that the vehicle would be located in Texas as opposed to Louisiana. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 2023CA0157, Categories: Insurance, Tort, Choice Of Law
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly granted the sellers' motion to cancel a notice of lis pendens filed by the buyer on an apartment complex. The order arose out of a breach of contract action brought by the sellers in a dispute over the failed sale of the apartment complex. The buyer's counterclaims were related to its alleged interest in the property, therefore the trial court incorrectly found that the property was not involved in the counterclaims under the meaning of the statute. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: A23A0727, Categories: Property, Contract
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly entered an order holding the landlord in criminal contempt of a settlement agreement with the tenants and fining the landlord $52,000. The landlord failed to remove negative reports it made on the tenants' credit reports in accordance with the agreement. Sufficient evidence was presented to show that the landlord willfully failed to correct the credit reports, including emails showing that the landlord first took action to correct the reports a month after the deadline set in the agreement. The fines imposed by the trial court were not excessive and the trial court correctly awarded the tenants attorney fees. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: A23A0865, Categories: Contempt, Landlord Tenant, Settlements
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly confirmed an arbitration award in favor of the attorney in a breach of contract action arising from an employment compensation dispute and correctly denied the firm's motion to vacate the award. The arbitrators did not fundamentally change the award by adding a provision stating that the firm and the company were jointly and severally liable for the damages. The legal effect of the award was the same even after the change. The attorney's motion to confirm the award was timely. However, the trial court incorrectly awarded $35,000 in post-judgment interest. The case is remanded for the trial court to clarify the basis for the award. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: A23A0985, Categories: Arbitration, Contract
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the city in a negligence action brought by an individual arising from a car collision with a fire truck. Genuine issues of fact remain as to whether the firefighter slowed down as necessary under the statute before proceeding through the red light at the intersection. Genuine issues of fact also exist as to whether the firefighter's actions proximately caused the individual's injuries. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: A23A1037, Categories: Negligence
J. Miller finds the trial court improperly denied the mother's emergency motion to appoint an attorney ad litem for her minor son in a dispute involving several previous court orders in part suspending the mother's time-sharing, granting full custody of two other children to the father and requiring the son to enroll in military school. Legal matters in a separate pending appeal do not prevent the trial court from exercising jurisdiction over the mother's emergency motion, so the mother's petition for a writ of certiorari is construed as a petition for a writ of mandamus and the petition is granted. On remand the trial court is ordered to convene a hearing on the mother's motion, and the writ of mandamus is withheld with the assumption the hearing will take place.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 23-1402, Categories: Family Law
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly overturned the decision by the Georgia Public Service Commission that a pet care company could switch to receiving electric service from the corporation instead of from the company. The trial court correctly interpreted the Georgia Territorial Electric Service Act in finding that the pet care company had not dismantled or destroyed the facility to such a degree as to trigger the exception in the statute allowing the pet care company to switch providers. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: A23A0746, Categories: Energy
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of burglary and correctly denied his motion for a new trial. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's allegedly deficient performance. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: A23A1029, Categories: Burglary, Ineffective Assistance
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly denied the injured driver's motion for attorney fees and litigation expenses in a negligence action against the driver arising from a car collision. The injured driver served an offer of settlement in the first action which she voluntarily dismissed but did not serve an offer of settlement in the renewal action in which she prevailed. A valid offer of settlement must be served in a renewal action to authorize an award under the statute. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: A23A0687, Categories: Negligence, Attorney Fees
[Consolidated] J. Miller finds the trial court erred in its decision against the daughter in a dispute between her mother and other family, a bank, lenders and mortgage assignees over ownership interest, title to and control of three properties in light of the daughter's father's death. In part because the relevant Florida law involving lis pendens does not apply to the claims of ownership the daughter pursued based on recorded deeds and other "duly written instruments," and because there are factual disputes about whether deeds recorded later were fraudulent, the trial court's summary judgment order against the daughter is overturned and the case is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 22-2136, Categories: Fraud, Property, Contract
J. Miller-Lerman finds the district court properly granted summary judgment to the insurance company in this dispute over underinsured motorist coverage. After the injured driver settled with the at-fault driver’s insurance for $25,000, and for another $25,000 with the provider for the borrowed vehicle she was operating, it was determined that she had been fully compensated. A limitations of action policy provision states that “any suit … will be barred unless commenced within two years.” The policy was purchased in Iowa, and the Iowa two‑year policy limitation bars the action according to the policy’s choice of law provision. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Miller-Lerman, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: S-22-898, Categories: Insurance, Vehicle, Choice Of Law
J. Miller vacates defendant's convictions on charges of aggravated rape and video voyeurism and grants a new trial due to the trial court's erroneous exclusion and admittance of certain evidence. The case stems from the alleged rape of a victim allegedly perpetrated by defendant and the former Livingston Parish Sheriff's Deputy Dennis Perkins, who at the time was married to the victim. The victim claims she would have never consented to a threesome involving defendant, but there was evidence contradicting this where the victim "admitted to having group sex on video on more than one occasion." Vacated.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 2022KA1110, Categories: Evidence, Assault, Due Process
J. Miller finds the trial court properly compelled arbitration in a lawsuit the cosmetic surgery clinic faces from a patient who discovered nude pictures of herself on Instagram after undergoing surgery at the clinic. Though she claims the arbitration agreement was unlawful because it was presented to her on the eve of her surgery after she had already paid her deposit, the patient's claims that the contract is unconscionable and was made under duress fail, so the trial court's order compelling arbitration is upheld. However, under the Revised Florida Arbitration Code, the trial court should have stayed and not dismissed the lawsuit, so that part of the trial court's order is overturned and the case is remanded. Affirmed in part.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 22-1927, Categories: Arbitration, Privacy, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Miller finds that the trial court properly denied the father's motion for contempt against the mother. The father did not buy a plane ticket for the child and the child therefore had no way to travel to see him. The father was responsible for costs associated with the children's visits under the parenting plan. The trial court incorrectly found the father in contempt of the final judgment in the divorce case because he was not properly served with process in Florida. The father presented evidence showing that the process server had not been appointed as a process server in Duval County, Florida. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: A23A0869, Categories: Contempt, Family Law
J. Miller finds the trial court properly relied on testimony from defendant's community control officer and imposed a prison term. Whether defendant was verbally and physically aggressive at his rehab center was irrelevant; rather, the testimony from the officer was used to establish that defendant was kicked out of the rehab program prematurely, regardless of the reason. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3297, Categories: Probation, Sentencing
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly dismissed the scooter driver's personal injury suit as abandoned since "more than three years passed without any step in the prosecution or defense." Though, the dismissal should be without prejudice. Affirmed as amended.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2023CA0057, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tort
J. Miller finds that defendant was properly convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile and sexual battery. The evidence of defendant's 2019 conviction for indecent behavior with a different juvenile victim was properly admitted based on its probative value. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Miller, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 2023KA0086, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Miller finds defendant's speedy trial rights were not violated by the delay between his arrest and trial on theft charges. Defense counsel requested a continuance during the Covid-19 pandemic and he was released from prison prior to his trial, which extended the speedy trial clock by more than 90 days. Meanwhile, defendant's maximum sentences were not contrary to law because the trial court made all required findings and the sentences were within the statutory range for his convictions. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3212, Categories: Sentencing, Theft, Speedy Trial