16 results for 'judge:"Fenn"'.
J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly denied an attorney's request to replace a special-bar counsel person set to be in charge of prosecuting a pending disciplinary proceeding against her. The counsel person currently set to carry out the duty has a conflict of interest due to being involved in a prior suspension action involving the attorney and most likely was told confidential information that would conflict with this case. New counsel needs to be appointed to carry out the investigation from scratch. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 22-8015, Categories: Attorney Discipline
J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly denied a father's motion to intervene in underlying proceedings regarding his son's criminal charges and a potential forfeiture of the bond for which the father had paid. The father claimed in his motion that he was entitled to intervene because he paid the entire amount of the bond. While the merits on his motion to intervene are unclear at this time, the lower court denied it without giving the father proper notice or an opportunity to be heard on his motion to make his case. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: S-23-0136, Categories: Civil Procedure, Forfeiture
J. Fenn finds that the lower court improperly ruled in favor of a trustee in a dispute where an individual tried to remove the trustee entirely from a trust. The lower court found that by filing such an action, the individual triggered a non-contest clause that disinherited him from the trust and prohibited legislation. But the lower court was reading into terms that "are not there," and in the language of the agreement, the removal provisions were not mandatory and there was nothing that triggered the no-contest clause. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: S-23-0126, Categories: Trusts
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual assault. He claims that the lower court improperly allowed evidence that related to how defendant began a sexual relationship with the victim when the victim was still a minor, but such evidence is admissible under the law and the lower court carried out all the proper hearings to allow it. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: S-23-0116, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly ruled in favor of the University of Wyoming regarding its drilling rights on a series of water wells. The City of Laramie claimed that a deed from 1965 barred the university from drilling in at least one of the wells. The lower court correctly found that state legislation affords the university sovereign immunity in the dispute that leaves the 1965 deed enforceable and gives the university drilling rights over the disputed wells. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: S-23-0062, Categories: Water
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J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress drug evidence during his trial for possession of cocaine. Defendant claims police entered his apartment without his consent or a warrant, but police were there to investigate a domestic violence report and one of the alleged victims gave implied consent to enter the apartment through her nonverbal gestures. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: S-23-0034, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of involuntary
manslaughter. Defendant claims there was not enough evidence presented to support her guilty verdict and that the lower court improperly dismissed a jury right before deliberations. The jury had enough evidence on the record to support their findings, and the juror in question was properly dismissed for not following court instructions on not making up his mind or making opinionated statements on the case before the trial was finished. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S-22-0312, Categories: Jury, Manslaughter
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly upheld the tax assessments for a series of vacant lots in Converse County, Wyoming. The owner of the lots claims the lower court upheld the values without enough evidence, but the lower court complied with all the relevant statutes and regulations to properly assess them. There is no evidence on the record that supports that the assessments were upheld arbitrarily. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: S-23-0057, Categories: Tax
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly found in favor of the state of Wyoming after three individuals were injected with the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine from their healthcare provider who was contracting with the state, when their consent forms only mentioned the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer. Under the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, the state is shielded from lawsuits and liability over issues such as this and was properly granted summary judgment. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: S-23-0011, Categories: Medical Malpractice
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly ruled in favor of a law firm after a native tribe and a casino sued it for return of documents and funds after a falling out with the firm. While the lower court improperly imposed sanctions on the tribe following their suit, the merits of the claims were correctly found to be in favor of the firm. The tribe did not have standing to bring accounting claims, could not show that they had an adequate remedy under the law, and did not prove that the trial verdict against them would have been any different had "racially charged evidence" during proceedings not been admitted. Affirmed in part.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: S-22-0265, Categories: Native Americans, Contract
J. Fenn finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of interference with a peace officer for injuring a corrections officer in the penitentiary in which he is serving three consecutive life sentences. Defendant argues his right to due process was violated when the court conducted an Asch hearing in his absence, but the instant court finds the court appropriately conducted the Asch hearing without defendant present, as he waived that right when he refused to attend. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 2023WY97, Categories: Due Process
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. 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. 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. Fenn finds that the lower court properly issued a custody order for a child to spend the school year with her father and the summer with her mother. Given the geographic distance between the two parents, the record shows this arrangement was in the best interest of the child. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: S-22-0262, Categories: Family Law
J. Fenn finds that the lower court properly dismissed a complaint against the mayor of Green River from an individual who says the mayor violated his oath of office by not investigating a witness who recanted a statement in the individual's underlying murder case. The claims against the mayor were rightfully tossed for being time-barred.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fenn, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: S-22-0245, Categories: Civil Rights, Government