36 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Jury Instructions"'.
J. Lynch finds that the district court improperly excluded statements in which defendant allegedly threatened postal service employees when he learned in a phone call with state labor representatives that his short stint as a postal worker did not qualify him for unemployment benefits because defendant's references to his own criminal record were probative of intent, and any prejudice in revealing past bad acts could have been reduced through limiting instructions. Reversed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Lynch, Filed On: May 28, 2024, Case #: 23-6790, Categories: evidence, Threats, jury Instructions
J. Wright finds that defendant was properly convicted of theft of property worth between $30,000 and $150,000, in charges brought after officers responding to a call concerning a suspicious vehicle discovered defendant towing a trailer loaded with a stolen "skid-steer" bulldozer. Defendant was properly denied a mistrial after the arresting officer testified about previous incidents involving the truck because the judge instructed the jury to disregard the statement. That defendant contended he obtained a repossession order from someone he barely knew in a chance meeting at a convenience store was sufficient to conclude he was not authorized to remove the equipment. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: May 22, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00421-CR, Categories: evidence, Robbery, jury Instructions
J. Holloway finds the trial court properly convicted the defendant of premeditated murder. The defendant alleged the evidence was insufficient, requested a new trial, and claimed the jury was not instructed properly. The court upholds the conviction because the evidence supported it, and the court sees no evidence that the jury was improperly instructed. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Holloway, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: E2022-01392-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Hellman finds the trial court properly denied defendant’s request for the less-satisfactory evidence jury instruction. Inconsistency in witness testimony “does not establish that a video existed or that it was reasonably available to the state.” Affirmed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Hellman, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: A177478, Categories: evidence, jury Instructions
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the circuit finds that the district court properly convicted ex-attorney Michael Avenatti of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in diverting a publisher's advance to client Stormy Daniels for a tell-all memoir about her life in the adult film industry and purported sexual encounter with Donald Trump. Avenatti contends the jury had been provided confusing and prejudicial instructions about the professional obligations of lawyers, but any error was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence against him. Affirmed.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 22-1242(L), Categories: evidence, Identity Theft, jury Instructions
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in convicting defendant for murder. Defendant raised a number of issues with his conviction, including arguing a lower court had improperly negated his sudden-passion claim that he had “snapped” and killed the victim because she rejected him, but while the record does indeed show that defendant was both “jealous and possessive,” courts have long held that “a rejection of a romantic proposal does not qualify as adequate cause for purposes of the sudden passion defense,” not least because a person of “ordinary temper” does not murder people based on romantic rejections. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 08-22-00177-CR, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
J. McKinnon holds that the trial court erred in admitting an uncharged act of sexual assault to show a common scheme with charged counts of sexual assault. The uncharged acts could not prove a common motive or plan since they occurred after the charged acts. Also, the jury was improperly instructed on the mental state required for sexual assault. Reversed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: DA 22-0547, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, jury Instructions
J. Heavican finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 35 to 40 years imprisonment. The victim, after a night of partying and drinking in multiple locations, accepted a ride from defendant. Defendant parked his vehicle in a parking lot before beginning his assault on the protesting victim, who then reported the assault to a police officer who had pulled up behind defendant's vehicle. There was no error in the court’s jury instruction on consent or its decision not to allow continued impeachment of the victim's prior statements to police. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Heavican , Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: S-23-147, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, jury Instructions
J. Kemp finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for two counts of first-degree murder. Officers responded to a call by a victim's son when he discovered his mother and defendant's father dead from gunshot wounds. The father's body appeared to officers to be posed with a gun in its hand, though it was later confirmed he had been shot six times by that very gun. Furthermore, the trial court properly rejected proffered instructions on justification and kidnapping because there was no evidence defendant reasonably believed the victims were about to commit a felony with force or violence, or that his life was in imminent danger. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Kemp , Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: CR-23-486, Categories: evidence, 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
J. Welbaum finds that although no one, including the victim, witnessed defendant remove the victim's breast from her jacket and grope her while she slept, his conviction for gross sexual imposition was supported by sufficient, circumstantial evidence, including the victim's testimony she woke up several times after feeling someone grope her and eventually woke up to defendant having vaginal intercourse with her. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to give a curative instruction to the jury following an emotional outburst by the victim after defendant's mother made faces and reacted inappropriately to her testimony at trial. The statements made by the victim were consistent with her testimony and did not affect the outcome of the trial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welbaum, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-481, Categories: evidence, Sex Offender, jury Instructions
J. Hiland finds the court of appeals improperly reversed the trial court's defendant's convictions for DWI and refusal to submit to testing after his arrest for being passed out drunk in his vehicle on the side of the road. The arresting officer testified he had difficulty awakening defendant, who eventually referred to the officer as "mom." The officer smelled alcohol and saw other signs of defendant's intoxication. No abuse of discretion is found in the court's denying a mistrial where defense opened the door to allegedly prejudicial statements about defendant's blood alcohol level or where the possible prejudice could have been cured by an admonition to the jury. Vacated.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Hiland, Filed On: February 1, 2024, Case #: CR-22-452, Categories: evidence, Dui, jury Instructions
J. Froelicher finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of voyeurism. There was enough evidence to find that he had violated the relevant voyeurism statute, he was not prejudiced by any alleged improper instructions to the jury, and the lower court was within their rights to deny his request to suppress evidence of his voyeurism on a series of computer memory cards. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Froelicher, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: S-23-0020, Categories: Criminal Procedure, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Murphy finds the trial court properly found defendant guilty for breaking or entering. The victim's security video showed defendant exiting the victim's vehicle, from which he had removed the battery after noticing his keys were missing. The state presented sufficient evidence of criminal intent and not merely that defendant broke into the vehicle. The jury could reasonably infer defendant was preparing to steal the car, which would not start due to the removed battery. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: CR-22-614, Categories: evidence, Theft, jury Instructions
[Consolidated, redacted.] J. Sabatino finds that the trial court properly convicted defendants of armed robbery of Poppie's Deli based on surveillance video that captured defendants taking the victim out of the building. Defendant was not prejudiced by the decision allowing the jury to view the video several times in slow motion because the court exercised proper discretion, and video playback occurred in open court within the presence of counsel. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Appellate Division, Judge: Sabatino , Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: A-0377-20, Categories: evidence, Robbery, jury Instructions
J. Duncan finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for prescribing pain medication without a legitimate purpose. Defendant was the only doctor working for the "pill mill." Several co-conspirators and the owner of the operation posing as a pain management clinic pleaded guilty, testifying against the physician. The jury was presented with overwhelming proof defendant knew the prescriptions he wrote were medically unauthorized, and he cannot show any proposed error in jury instruction effected his substantial rights. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Duncan, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 22-20515, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Mathis finds the trial court's jury instructions during defendants' trial on conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants for commercial gain included language that properly defined the term "harbor." The revised version of the Immigration Act does not require knowing or willful acts on the part of criminal defendants. Additionally, even if the court had adopted defendants' version of the instruction, there was overwhelming evidence to establish the mens rea and find them guilty, including that the four Mexican immigrants lived in defendants' basement and were told to "not go outside or make any noise" at the risk of being deported by the government. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 22-5516, Categories: evidence, Immigration, jury Instructions
J. Marion finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of delivery of a controlled substance. Defendant argued there was not adequate evidence to convict her and that a lower court erred by not instructing the jury that testimony from a confidential informant must be corroborated by law enforcement, but defendant did not object to the lack of instruction at trial and there is other evidence linking her to the offense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Marion, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00126-CR, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Greenlee finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of first-degree murder and shooting a firearm into a vehicle. Defendant shot a gun in a convenience store parking lot, killing a man sitting in the back seat of another car. Surveillance video captured the incident. Evidence is sufficient to support her convictions and sentence of life imprisonment with eligibility for parole, with five concurrent years suspended and three years post-release supervision. Defendant’s claim the jury was improperly instructed is without merit as the lower court judge excluded the lesser charge of second-degree murder, but the defendant failed to object, thereby waiving her right to later argue the issue. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Greenlee, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 2022-KA-00446-COA, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly convicted the former police chief of San Angelo, Texas, for bribery after he accepted money from a city vendor in exchange for support of the vendor’s future city contracts. There was no error in the court’s jury instructions requiring it to find a quid pro quo. Defendant’s argument, according to which an agreement to support the payor “as opportunities arise” isn’t a quid pro quo, misunderstands the law. The government presented evidence of a $180,000 agreement, disguised as fees for band performances, in exchange for support on future contracts. This a valid theory of bribery. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 22-10766, Categories: evidence, Bribery, jury Instructions
J. Brown finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for battery committed against a 75-year-old man. Evidence of the victim’s previously unknown convictions for robbery, domestic battery, and solicitation of murder, as disclosed during trial by the victim’s testimony, did not constitute a discovery violation. The testimony did not prove that the victim was the aggressor and defendant’s motion for directed verdict was properly denied. No proof was presented for self-defense and the court properly denied defendant’s request for jury instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown, Filed On: November 1, 2023, Case #: CR-22-407, Categories: evidence, Battery, jury Instructions
J. Baker finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Defendant killed the victim with a machete after a night of drinking which ended in an altercation involving what defendant claims was the victim’s threat that he was going to “whip” defendant and steal his vehicle. The court properly declined to submit defendant’s proffered jury instruction on justification, submitting a modified version of the model instruction. Case law cited by defendant did not support his position, and the language from the model instruction, modified to include justification instructions, accurately stated the law. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Baker, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: CR-23-202, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Carlton finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of burglary for stealing equipment from a shed at the Hattiesburg Department of Public Works, and sentenced him to seven years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Defendant argues the jury should have been instructed on the lesser-included offense of larceny, but the instant court makes clear that larceny is a lesser-nonincluded offense, and defendants are no longer entitled to those instructions.The instant court finds no error in the lower court's findings. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Court Of Appeals, Judge: Carlton, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 2022-KA-01118-COA, Categories: Burglary, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Golemon finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Two eyewitnesses testified that when the victim asked defendant to buy beer, he went to his house, returned with a gun and shot the victim in the head. He then hid in a ditch, where police later arrested him. Though defendant gave detectives a statement almost 18 months after the shooting, saying that three “men in black” forced him to smoke synthetic marijuana and kill the victim, then chased him until he fell in the ditch, the jury rejected his duress defense. The evidence is sufficient to support the jury’s rejection of the defense. The court properly refused instruction on involuntary intoxication because defendant stated that the synthetic marijuana didn’t take effect until he fell in the ditch. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Golemon, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00106-CR, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Gilman finds the trial court improperly failed to include a jury instruction on the lesser-offense of simple possession during defendant's trial for possession with intent to distribute. Evidence defendant was a drug user himself, was known to purchase a large quantity at a time for personal use, and did not have an overwhelming amount of drugs on him when he was arrested indicates he may have had no intent to sell the drugs. Reversed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Gilman, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 22-3552, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Wise finds that while only a small sample of the pills discovered on defendant were tested for illegal drugs, the random testing procedure allows for an inference that all of the contraband contained fentanyl; therefore, the testing results and the large quantity of pills in defendant's possession supported his convictions for possession and trafficking. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to give a jury instruction for a lesser-included offense because the quantity of the drugs found on defendant required a special finding by the jury to determine the class of felony for his trafficking conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wise, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2346, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, jury Instructions
J. Shea finds that the district court properly denied defendant's request for a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of mitigated deliberate homicide because his only legal theory was acquittal based on his argument that he was out of town and his wife killed their roommate. However, there was insufficient evidence that his roommate's truck which he sold after his death was worth more than $1,500, as required to support his conviction for felony deceptive practices. Reversed in part.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Shea, Filed On: July 5, 2023, Case #: DA 20-0243, Categories: evidence, Murder, jury Instructions
J. Jones finds the trial court properly convicted defendant, a medical doctor, for tax evasion. All evidence on the record supports conviction. Defendant offers no reason to believe that the prosecutor's questions as to taxes for years that were not before the court prejudiced the jury. Given the weight of evidence presented, there is no significant possibility that these questions—which defendant did not answer, and the court instructed the jury to disregard—had a substantial impact on the verdict. The trial court assessed any prejudicial effect and the Fifth Circuit defers. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jones , Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22-60350, Categories: evidence, Tax, jury Instructions