Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
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1-6 of 793 results
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State v. Canal-Medina
July 9, 2026
Rule 404(c) requires no substantial similarity between prior acts of child molestation and the charged offense — any other act of child molestation is admissible to prove propensity.- Criminal Appeals
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- Utah Court of Appeals
Does momentarily blocking an exit route satisfy Utah’s unlawful detention statute?Bluffdale City v. Verive
July 2, 2026
The Utah Court of Appeals clarified that unlawful detention requires no minimum duration and is satisfied by briefly blocking any exit route the victim seeks to use, regardless of whether alternative routes exist.- Criminal Appeals
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State v. Kent
June 25, 2026
An undercover officer’s creation of a minor persona on a dating app does not constitute entrapment as a matter of law when the defendant independently pursued the sexual conversation, repeatedly acknowledged the victim’s age, and expressed awareness of the criminal consequences.- Criminal Appeals
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- Utah Court of Appeals
When does a charging document variance waive a defendant’s due process rights in Utah?State v. Talbert
June 25, 2026
The decision clarifies when uncharged sexual acts constitute admissible intrinsic evidence, when a charging-document variance implicates subject matter jurisdiction versus notice, and how failure to seek a trial continuance waives variance-based due process claims.- Criminal Appeals
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- Utah Court of Appeals
Can trial counsel’s jury selection decisions constitute ineffective assistance?State v. Perez
June 11, 2026
The court affirmed that strategic jury selection decisions receive strong deference and that trial courts need not make written findings about contested presentence report information unless they first determine an actual inaccuracy exists.- Criminal Appeals
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- Utah Court of Appeals
Does the failure to request a specific unanimity instruction always require reversal?Miranda v. State
June 11, 2026
Utah appellate courts apply the Strickland prejudice standard, not a presumption of prejudice, when evaluating ineffective assistance claims for unpreserved jury unanimity instruction errors.- Criminal Appeals


