87 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Jury"'.
J. McCallum finds that the court of appeal should not have granted the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to liability and damages in this three-car accident action. In this case, the court of appeal improperly reweighed the evidence and made credibility determinations as to the witness testimony. Based on the testimony, the jury could have reasonably determined that the middle driver impacted the first driver before being impacted from behind by the last driver, and that his negligence in colliding with the first driver created a hazard contributing to the last driver's inability to avoid the accident. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: McCallum, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 2023-C-01107, Categories: evidence, jury
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
J. Shanker upholds defendant's stalking conviction which was based, in part, on his repeated threatening emails and texts to a former coworker, and his sending of letters to his former employer and government agencies claiming the coworker had engaged in misconduct. Although he argues the trial court should have instructed the jury that his communications should be considered unprotected speech, he did not ask for the instruction and his rights were not violated. Affirmed.
Court: DC Court of Appeals, Judge: Shanker, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 22-CM-0963, Categories: evidence, jury
J. Waldick finds the trial court properly admitted the victims' 911 calls into evidence at defendant's trial on attempted murder and assault charges. The calls were made while defendant attempted to break into the victims' home and immediately after he had assaulted his girlfriend, one of the victims; therefore, the calls were admissible under the present sense impression hearsay exception. Meanwhile, the trial court properly allowed the prosecution to provide details about defendant's prior conviction for attempted murder because the facts of the previous case were similar and established relevance, while the state did not include any prejudicial or inflammatory details likely to influence the jury. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waldick, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1534, Categories: evidence, jury, Assault
J. Stargel finds that defendant was improperly convicted of murder because the jury had been given confusing instructions as to the law of self-defense, and the instructions were not corrected during trial. There was enough evidence to support the defendant’s self-defense theory and the court should have given the requested portion of jury instruction on deadly force. Therefore, this case is remanded for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Stargel, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 6D23-509, Categories: evidence, jury, Self Defense
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J. Hood finds the district court improperly excluded portions of a video to the jury that shows the defendant refusing to test for suspicion of DUI. This error influences the fairness of the trial, and most likely the jury’s verdict. The defendant has since died, but the portion of the opinion on the administrative definition of “refusal” is remanded for a new trial. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hood, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 2024CO20, Categories: evidence, jury, Dui
J. Baker finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Defendant was taken into custody after having been identified as a suspect. She was found with the murder weapon, Mirandized and admitted she had been in an argument with the victim because he had allegedly struck her 14-year-old son. Sufficient evidence, including surveillance video and clothing worn by the assailant in the video found at defendant's home, support the conviction. Though it was later found a juror's sister worked for the defense attorney, no evidence shows the juror and attorney knew each other. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Baker , Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: CR-23-602, Categories: evidence, jury, Murder
Per curiam, the Texas Supreme Court finds that the court of appeals improperly ruled against Randalls in a premises liability case filed by a shopper alleging that the store should be held liable for her fall next to a grocery cart she claims was leaking its contents. The jury found that the grocery store chain did not have any constructive knowledge of the cart. The court of appeals reversed, finding that the jury should have also answered the question regarding whether Randalls had actual knowledge of the court. However, "since there is no evidence of actual knowledge of the danger, no reasonable jury could have answered the actual-knowledge question" in the shopper's favor. Reversed.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 23-0041, Categories: evidence, jury, Premises Liability
J. Waite finds defendant was not deprived of a fair trial on a murder charge based on the lack of a black individual on the jury panel. The process used to select the pool was entirely random and involved sending 500 summons to residents without any knowledge of their race, while no prospective juror was dismissed because of their race. Meanwhile, the trial court properly allowed two witnesses to testify about injuries to the victim consistent with domestic violence because defendant's claim the injuries were caused by an accident allowed for the use of the "absence, mistake, or accident" exception to prior bad acts evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Waite, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1543, Categories: evidence, jury, Murder
J. DeGravelles denies summary judgment to the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, finding a motorcyclist has adequately alleged the railroad failed to properly inspect a railroad crossing, resulting in his single-vehicle accident with injuries. According to regulations, the railroad must conduct an inspection of railroad track crossings once a month. In the motorcyclist’s case, the railroad’s own exhibits prove that on-foot inspections “never occurred.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv309, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: evidence, jury, Transportation
J. McEvers finds that the district court properly denied a motion for a new trial after a jury found defendant guilty of fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, reckless endangerment and driving under suspension or revocation. Substantial evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: North Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: McEvers, Filed On: March 18, 2024, Case #: 2024ND48, Categories: evidence, jury
J. Gwin finds the victim's testimony he confronted defendant in the driver's seat of his vehicle and that defendant pointed a gun at him before striking him with the same weapon as he fled was sufficient to convict defendant of aggravated robbery and felonious assault. Meanwhile, the jury's decision to acquit defendant on several firearm specifications did not create an inconsistent verdict because there was sufficient evidence to support all of the guilty verdicts, while the acquittal could represent mercy or compromise on the part of the jury, not confusion. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gwin, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-923, Categories: evidence, jury, Robbery
[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
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
[Consolidated.] J. Hunter vacates defendant's conviction for being a principal to second degree murder because it was rendered by a non-unanimous jury. However, defendant's conviction for conspiracy to commit second degree murder was proper because a witness testified that defendant was present when the murder took place, that defendant shook hands with the person who shot the victim, and that defendant led the police to the victim's body. Vacated in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Hunter, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 55,497-KA, Categories: evidence, jury, Murder
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. Wilkin finds that inconsistencies in the testimony of the victim's uncle do not render defendant's conviction for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor improper. Not only was the jury in the best position to determine witness credibility, but text messages proved defendant was at home on the night of the assault when he asked the victim to return a drill borrowed by the uncle, who lived across the street. Meanwhile, testimony from a police officer that defendant did not wish to make a statement during the investigation did not prejudice the jury against him because his decision to remain silent was not mentioned in opening or closing arguments, while there was also overwhelming evidence to support his guilt. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wilkin, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-794, Categories: evidence, jury, Sex Offender
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. Johnson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Witness testimony shows defendant was engaged in an altercation with another party, and the victim attempted to intercede, following which defendant shot the victim in the arm. Evidence supporting the conviction, including multiple eyewitness testimony, is strong. The jury likely would have convicted defendant regardless of a closing statement made by the prosecutor involving the victim's lack of opportunity to "coordinate a story," which defendant claims was improper burden shifting. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Johnson , Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 09-22-00380-CR, Categories: evidence, jury, Assault
J. Trapp finds defendant's fair trial rights were not violated when the trial court denied his motion for a mistrial after two jurors discussed the case during a bathroom break. The snippets of conversation heard by a court employee did not involve any specific facts of the case and, following an instruction from the court, no further instances of misconduct occurred. Meanwhile, the evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of aggravated burglary despite his claims he was invited into the victim's home. That testimony was directly contradicted by the victim, and as this court must view such conflicts in favor of the prosecution, his convictions will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Trapp, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-512, Categories: Burglary, evidence, jury
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. Kemp finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder. An eyewitness saw defendant run from the area where the shooting took place and investigators recovered evidence from the residence where he hid, including ammunition, gunshot residue and the victim's DNA. All evidence supports the conviction, defendant's right to a speedy trial was not violated, and the prosecution gave valid, race-neutral reasons for exercising peremptory strikes of jurors. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Kemp , Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-342, Categories: evidence, jury, Murder
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. Klappenbach finds the trial court properly found in favor of the landlord in a case where the tenant filed a sex discrimination counterclaim after the landlord had filed an unlawful detainer action against her. The trial court properly rejected the challenge to the strike of a black juror based on counsel's explanation of the peremptory strike as arising from concerns involving the age of the potential juror. This concern arose from the affinity younger people have with the act of shooting video, associated with video evidence that was admitted. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: CV-22-725, Categories: evidence, jury, Landlord Tenant
J. Kobayashi denies the lab judgment that a jury entered a wrong damages verdict unsupported by evidence in the contract between the lab and a former employee. The jury in fact correctly determined that the lab violated the employment contract by altering his compensation amounts. The employee presented sufficient evidence comparing past compensation and evidence that the experience had been emotionally traumatizing. The lab is denied a new trial as there is no evidence of clear error.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: 1:19cv310, NOS: Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement of Judgment - Contract, Categories: Employment, evidence, jury