143 results for 'cat:"Jury" AND cat:"Murder"'.
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
J. Furman finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a jury instruction on the affirmative defense of force against intruders during her murder trial. The victim was shot in her own home and, therefore, defendant could not establish the objective element of unlawful entry. Meanwhile, the trial court was not required to give jury instructions on all subsections of the self-defense statute because there was no evidence the victim intended or was about to inflict harm upon defendant. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Furman, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 2023COA104, Categories: murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Hutchison affirms the lower court's order sentencing defendant to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder after denying his motion for a new trial on the grounds the judge sua sponte directed the circuit clerk not to call six jurors selected from the community where the murder occurred. Despite the error to exclude the six "Bradshaw jurors" without notifying the prosecution or defense counsel, defendant received a fair trial since those who were ultimately seated were selected at random, and demonstrated no bias against him. Affirmed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hutchison, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 22-219, Categories: Fair Trial, jury, murder
J. Schumacher finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder and other charges. Defendant moved for a mistrial after a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon was mentioned during trial, but he declined the court's offer to instruct the jury to ignore the statement at the time. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schumacher, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 21-0797, Categories: murder, jury Instructions
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J. Ellington finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Defendant failed to show that the was prejudiced by the trial court's failure to give an accomplice corroboration jury instruction since there was substantial evidence presented at trial corroborating the witness's testimony. The trial court did not commit any error by admitting into evidence a document titled "proof of incarceration" with defendant's information on it which was found at the crime scene. The probative value of the document outweighed the risk of unfair prejudice to defendant because it was relevant to show defendant was likely present at the crime scene around the time of the murder. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: S23A0871, Categories: murder, jury Instructions
J. Easter finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of second degree murder and aggravated assault for his role in the shooting death of a 19-year-old drug dealer he was intending to rob. Defendant argues the jury was improperly instructed as to the issue of his alleged flight from the crime scene, but the instant court finds the jury was properly instructed. Evidence is sufficient to support his convictions and effective sentence of 21 years to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Easter, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: E2022-01308-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: murder, Assault, jury Instructions
J. Murphy finds the Kentucky Supreme Court properly denied a death row inmate's petition for habeas relief on his claim the jury conducted an improper experiment with the knife used during the commission of his break-in and murder. There is no clearly established law or ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that renders such experiments unconstitutional. Defendant makes no claims of jury bias and points to no precedent regarding due process protections that would limit or ban the type of experiments with physical evidence conducted by the jury in this case. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Murphy, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 17-5065, Categories: Habeas, jury, murder
[Consolidated.] J. Stiles finds that defendant was properly convicted and sentenced for murder and firearm possession stemming from a fatal shooting at a party. Defendant sought a mistrial based on a juror's alleged violation of a ban on research, but the juror had "simply researched the role of juries and courts" and not the case at issue. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stiles, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: KA-23-189, Categories: Firearms, murder, jury Instructions
J. McDonald finds that the court of appeals improperly overturned defendant's murder conviction on grounds that a verdict-urging instruction had been given multiple times during jury deadlock. While one juror seemed unwilling to change his mind, other jurors had not demonstrated hostility or placed undue pressure upon him.
Court: Iowa Supreme Court, Judge: McDonald, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-0089, Categories: jury, murder, 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. Johnson reverses the defendant's second-degree murder conviction, finding that an erroneous jury instruction was not harmless. The instruction, which concerned the defendant's defense-of-others defense, erred in stating that the defendant had a duty to retreat or avoid danger if reasonably possible. Such an instruction contradicts the statutory right to use reasonable force to defend another person. This case is remanded for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: Minnesota Court Of Appeals, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: A22-1424, Categories: murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Peterson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder predicated on possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The trial court correctly charged the jury and instructed them that the state had to prove that defendant caused the victim's death either directly or as a party to the crime by shooting him with a gun. The jury's verdicts finding defendant guilty on one charge of murder based on marijuana possession but acquitting him on two charges related to murder based on aggravated assault are not repugnant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S23A0987, Categories: murder, jury Instructions
J. Pinson finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and other offenses. The trial court correctly instructed the jury on party to a crime and conspiracy because there was at least slight evidence to support the theories. The trial court also did not commit any error by instructing the jury that provocation by words alone was not a defense to murder. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Pinson, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S23A0682, Categories: murder, jury Instructions
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Defendant sought review of multiple issues that arose from jury selection and sentencing. The circuit court ultimately held that statements made by a prosecutor should be clarified to reflect the fact that the State requested the transfer of the juvenile case to adult court, which the prosecutor agreed to explain. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 2023SD53, Categories: Juvenile Law, jury, murder
J. Zmuda finds defendant's murder and assault convictions were not against the weight of the evidence despite his claims of self-defense. All of the prosecution witnesses' testimony contradicted his account of an "angry, armed mob" trying to break into his apartment, which allowed the jury to discount the self-defense theory and convict him. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Zmuda, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3549, Categories: jury, murder, Self Defense
J. Yu finds that the lower court properly declined to offer instructions to a jury on a manslaughter charge during defendant's murder trial. Defendant did not bring forward any meaningful evidence that supported his request to have the jury instructed on a manslaughter charge as a lesser offense to his murder charge. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Yu, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 101398-1 , Categories: murder, Manslaughter, jury Instructions
J. Dato finds that defendant failed to make a prima facie case for resentencing on a first degree murder conviction. He could still be convicted despite changes to statute made since his conviction. And his allegation that the jury received an erroneous instruction that used now-disallowed "equally guilty" language could have been raised in his previous direct appeal. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Dato, Filed On: September 21, 2023, Case #: D080779, Categories: murder, Sentencing, jury Instructions
J. Huskey finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. The trial court properly denied defendant's challenge to the state's peremptory removal of the only Black juror, who said he would not be able to pay attention to the trial and did not want to be a part of it. The state's removal of the juror was not racially motivated. Also, defendant did not have evidence of an alternate perpetrator to support questioning police about the possibility. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Court Of Appeals, Judge: Huskey, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 49110, Categories: jury, murder, Weapons
J. Johnson finds that the district court should not have acquitted defendant of second degree murder. In this case, the non-unanimous, illegal, non-responsive verdict returned by the jury does not serve to acquit defendant of the second degree murder charge under Robinson. Further, double jeopardy does not apply, and the state can retry defendant on the second degree murder charge. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Johnson, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 23-KA-50, Categories: jury, murder, Double Jeopardy
J. Bethel finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder, aggravated assault and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict because there was evidence allowing the jury to find that defendant was a knowing participant when he started a dispute with the victim. Defendant's trial counsel was not deficient for failing to request a jury charge on good character evidence. Defendant failed to show that the trial outcome would have been different if the jury had received the charge. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Bethel, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0670, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, murder, jury Instructions
Per curiam, The Nebraska Supreme Court overrules defendant's motion for rehearing on his first-degree murder conviction, also modifying the opinion. Under the analysis subheading: “Juror Misconduct,” the court substitutes the second paragraph with: [statute] provides that “[a] new trial, after a verdict of conviction, may be granted, on the application of the defendant” for “misconduct of the jury” “affecting materially his or her substantial rights.” The court has said that “misconduct of the jury” does not only mean a jury’s bad faith or malicious motive, but also a departure from a procedure for production of a valid verdict. Former opinion modified. Motion for rehearing overruled.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: S-22-169, Categories: jury, murder, Due Process
J. Boggs finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and other offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to allow the jury to reject defendant's claim that he shot the victims in self defense. The trial court correctly refused to charge the jury on voluntary manslaughter and correctly denied defendant's motions for mistrial arising from the prosecutor's statements to the jury about defendant being in jail for more than two years before trial. The statements did not place defendant's character in issue. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Boggs, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: S23A0736, Categories: murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Moylan concurs with the lower court's decision to charge a bar customer with second-degree murder after he alleged stabbed someone, who died shortly after, outside the bar. The customer, on appeal, questions whether the evidence of video footage and the testimony of bar staff and other customers is legally sufficient and whether the judge abused his discretion by dismissing a juror. Upon review, although no one claimed to have seen the moment where the perpetrator stabbed the victim, multiple witnesses corroborated the customer's presence and physical description, as did the footage, and saw him running away just after the stabbing took place. Also, the judge was correct in replacing a juror as there was a potential conflict of interest since the juror was acquainted with some of the customer's family members. Affirmed.
Court: The Appellate Court of Maryland, Judge: Moylan, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: C-21-CR-18-000464, Categories: Evidence, jury, murder
J. Earls finds the court of appeals erroneously determined the evidence was insufficient to give the jury an aggressor doctrine instruction at defendant's trial for the murder of her boyfriend. It improperly considered the evidence in a light most favorable to defendant when it was required to consider it in favor of the state. Not only did evidence in the record contradict defendant's claim of self-defense, including that the victim was shot in the back and defendant sustained no injuries, but her own statements contained various inconsistencies that precluded an aggressor doctrine instruction, as properly determined by the trial court. Reversed.
Court: North Carolina Supreme Court, Judge: Earls, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 136PA22, Categories: murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Briscoe finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of murder. During trial, the lower court did not allow defendant's attorney to request a jury instruction on the theory of imperfect self-defense. By not allowing that theory to be delivered to the jury, defendant was prejudiced as it unfairly influenced his conviction. Vacated.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Briscoe, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 22-7012 , Categories: murder, Self Defense, jury Instructions
J. Chicchelly finds that defendant was properly convicted of first-degree murder. Defendant contends statements made by three prospective jurors influenced the jury, but he failed to prove he suffered prejudice warranting a mistrial. Affirmed.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Chicchelly, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 22-1055, Categories: jury, murder
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. Ellington finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction and to show that defendant's shooting of the victim was not justified. The trial court correctly instructed the jury and was not required to send written instructions out with the jury. No juror voiced any concern about having difficulty hearing during the jury charge even if the transcript notes that parts of the charge were inaudible to the court reporter due to construction or other noise. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: S23A0647, Categories: murder, jury Instructions