Justia Civil Rights Opinion Summaries

Following a jury trial, Appellant Lawrence Silva was convicted for aggravated burglary and attempt to commit kidnapping. The district court sentenced Appellant to imprisonment for twelve to fifteen years on each count to be served concurrent. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding (1) the district court did not err by preventing Appellant from introducing certain evidence of the victim's previous sexual conduct, as the evidence was irrelevant to Appellant's defense; and (2) the district court properly declined to instruct the jury on the offense of false imprisonment as a lesser-included offense of kidnapping because the lesser-included offense required an element not required for the higher felony offense.

Gary James was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and battery and two counts of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury. The district court imposed four consecutive terms of eight to ten years of incarceration. James appealed, contending that the convictions should have merged to two convictions for sentencing purposes because the consecutive sentences violated his constitutional right against multiple punishments for the same offense. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because James committed two separate and distinct criminal acts against each of two victims, the district court appropriately imposed consecutive sentences for those separate offenses.

Appellant received a sentence of twenty to twenty-two years imprisonment for a crime punishable by a term of twenty years to life. More than four years after starting his sentence, Appellant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence, alleging that his sentenced violated Wyo. Stat. Ann. 7-13-201 because the minimum term was greater than ninety percent of the maximum term. Rather than decrease the minimum term below the statutory minimum, the district court increased the maximum term from 265 months to 267 months. Appellant appealed, arguing that increasing his sentence after he had begun to serve that sentence violated double jeopardy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant's original sentence was illegal because it violated the statutory requirement that a minimum term may not be more than ninety percent of the maximum term; (2) the district court correctly increased the maximum term; but (3) the corrected sentence should have reflected the appropriate credit for the time appellant had served. Remanded.

Brady Michaels was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol. The Department of Transportation (the State) notified him that it was suspending his driver's license for ninety days. The Office of administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the suspension. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's order upholding the license suspension, holding (1) the OAH's ruling that Wyo. Stat. Ann. 31-5-233(b) (the statute) does not distinguish between alcohol concentration caused by consuming alcoholic beverages and alcohol concentration caused by some other factor was incorrect, as the statute was intended to apply when a person drives or is in actual control of a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol beyond the legal limit or to a degree rendering him incapable of safely driving; but (2) the State met its burden of proving that probable cause existed at the time of the arrest to believe that Michaels had violated the statute.

The district court terminated Father's parental rights to his three children after finding by clear and convincing evidence that he was incarcerated for a felony conviction and was unfit to have the custody and control of the children. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not plainly err when it allowed a police report and the testimony of the officer who wrote the report into evidence; (2) the district court did not plainly err when it allowed into evidence the officer's testimony regarding the credibility of a victim's statement; and (3) Mother presented clear and convincing evidence that Father was unfit to have the custody and control of his children.

Appellees, Shari and Steve Skaj, brought suit against Appellant Vincent Rosty to recover damages caused when an idling dump truck that had been driven by Appellant was knocked into gear, pinning Shari against a motor home. Appellant failed to plead or otherwise defend against the allegations in the complaint. The district court subsequently entered default judgment against Appellant and awarded damages to Appellees. The court then denied Appellant's motion to set aside entry of default or for relief from default judgment. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) Appellant's appeal was timely; (2) the district court did not violate Appellant's due process rights, as Appellant had adequate notice of the default judgment hearing and thus had a meaningful opportunity to be heard at the hearing; (3) Appellant was properly served with the summons and complaint; (4) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Appellant's motion to set aside entry of default and default judgment; and (5) the district court abused its discretion in awarding punitive damages, as Appellees failed to produce sufficient evidence of Appellant's wealth or financial condition to support an award of punitive damages. Remanded.

After initiating a traffic stop, a highway patrol trooper found marijuana in Jason Holohan's vehicle. Holohan was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Holohan filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized during the search of his vehicle, claiming the trooper lacked probable cause or reasonable suspicion to justify the traffic stop at the time he activated his flashing lights and could not use events occurring after activating his lights to justify the stop. The district court agreed and granted the motion. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) because Holohan did not submit to the trooper's show of authority in activating his lights, there was no Fourth Amendment seizure until the vehicle pulled off the highway and stopped; and (2) at the point that the vehicle pulled off the highway, the trooper had probable cause to stop the vehicle for weaving erratically and a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity based upon Holohan's failure to pull over in response to the flashing lights.

Appellant Roger Snow was convicted of felony burglary and a related misdemeanor. Snow appealed, contending that the district court erred when it denied his request for a new attorney and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court met its obligation to inquire about Snow's request for substitute counsel, and therefore the court did not abuse its discretion in addressing Snow's desire for substitute counsel; and (2) Snow failed to show he was entitled to a lesser-included offense instruction, or that his attorney's failure to request such an instruction so prejudiced him as to require reversal.

After a jury trial, Appellant Carl Peterson was convicted of second degree sexual abuse of a minor and soliciting a minor to engage in sexual relations. Peterson appealed, raising multiple allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding (1) Peterson failed to demonstrate that counsel's investigation and evaluation of a witness's likely testimony was flawed and outside the realm of professionally competent assistance; (2) Peterson failed to show that counsel was ineffective at the victim's competency hearing; (3) trial counsel was not ineffective in his cross-examination of the victim; and (4) counsel was not ineffective in his questioning of jurors during the voir dire process.

Appellant Wyatt Bear Cloud and two co-defendants were involved in an armed burglary of a residence in which one of Bear Cloud's co-defendants shot and killed one of the home's residents. Bear Cloud, who was sixteen years old at the time of the offenses, ultimately pleaded guilty to felony-murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, and aggravated burglary. Bear Cloud was sentenced to life imprisonment for his conviction for felony-murder. The Supreme Court affirmed Bear Cloud's convictions and sentences in their entireties, holding, inter alia, (1) Appellant's trial counsel was not ineffective in her representation of Bear Cloud; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it refused to transfer proceedings to juvenile court; (3) a life sentence for a juvenile who did not commit homicide does not violate the Eighth Amendment of the federal constitution or Wyo. Const. art. I, 14; and (4) Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-2-101(b) is not rendered unconstitutional by its mandatory sentencing structure, even as applied to a juvenile offender, and particularly in light of the district court's ability to consider mitigating circumstances when considering whether to transfer proceedings to juvenile court.