Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and first-degree arson. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment for each conviction, to be served concurrently. Before trial, the Commonwealth used seven if its nine peremptory challenges to remove women from the venire. Defendant made a Batson motion challenging the Commonwealth’s use of its peremptory challenges. The trial court concluded that the Commonwealth’s proffered rationales were gender neutral and nonpretextual. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Defendant’s Batson challenge and impermissibly allowed the Commonwealth to use its peremptory challenges to dismiss female jurors on the basis of gender. View "Ross v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Defendant was the subject of two independent cases related to the same victim - one for capital murder and one for capital kidnapping. The convictions in both cases were reversed, and Defendant was retried and again convicted. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s most recent murder conviction and sentence of death. This appeal concerned the parallel kidnapping case, in which, after a retrial, the jury found Defendant guilty of capital kidnapping and other crimes. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death for the kidnapping. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions, holding that evidence of another murder allegedly committed by Defendant and evidence of that murder victim’s background were improperly admitted in this kidnapping case, and the error was prejudicial. View "St. Clair v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the attempted murder of his fiancee, of first-degree arson, and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, holding that the trial court (1) did not deny Defendant the right to present a defense by limiting defense counsel’s questioning of the arson investigator; (2) did not err by admitting evidence that Defendant abused his finacee’s pets; (3) did not err by allowing the prosecutor question witnesses about Defendant’s mental illness, anger problems, and status as a non-native eastern Kentuckian; and (4) erred by admitting improper penalty-phase evidence. View "Stansbury v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of fourteen counts of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, fourteen counts of incest, and one count each of use of a minor in a sexual performance, complicity to tampering with a witness, and complicity to tampering with physical evidence. The trial court adopted the jury’s recommendation that Defendant consecutively serve the statutory maximum for each conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed the complicity convictions but reversed the remaining convictions, holding that the trial court’s jury instructions, except for those pertaining to Defendant’s complicity charges, denied him a unanimous verdict. Remanded for a retrial. View "Martin v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree arson. After finding as a statutory aggravator that Defendant murdered the victim in the commission of first-degree robbery, the jury sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of probation or parole. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s first-degree arson conviction and sentence but affirmed his first-degree murder conviction and his sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of probation or parole, holding (1) the Commonwealth failed to present sufficient evidence indicating that the victim was alive before the start of the fire, and therefore, Defendant was entitled to a directed verdict on the first-degree arson charge; and (2) any remaining allegations of error committed by the trial court were either without merit or did not warrant reversal. View "Luna v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

In two separate incidents, Appellant’s dog, Franklin, attacked other dogs. In the second incident, Franklin attacked another dog while under the supervision of Appellant’s mother. The district court found Appellant was not liable for the first incident. With regard to the second incident, the court found Appellant guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for “failing to restrain a dangerous dog” in violation of Chapter 91 of the Louisville Metro County Code of Ordinances. The trial court ordered Appellant to pay a fine and serve a jail sentence that was conditionally discharged, and provided animal services with the discretion to euthanize Franklin. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Ky. Rev. Stat. 83A.065(2) is unconstitutional and invalid to the extent that it authorizes Chapter 91 of the Ordinances or similar ordinances which provide for a penalty of incarceration, and Chapter 91 of the Ordinances was invalid to the extent it provides such a penalty; and (2) section 83A.065(2) is valid only to the extent that it vests local governments with the authority to enact penal violations that impose monetary fines. View "Johnson v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder, assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the fourth degree, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and tampering with physical evidence. Appellant was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction. During jury selection, fifty jurors were excused for cause. On Appellant’s appeal, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether Appellant was entitled to a new trial because of possible interaction between jurors and the murder victim’s mother. On remand, the trial court concluded that Appellant was not entitled to a new trial on this issue. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court erred in failing to strike one of the jurors for cause because she had three associations with Appellant, and there were reasonable grounds to believe that the juror could not render a fair and impartial verdict. View "Sluss v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant was sentenced to life without the possibility of probation or parole for twenty-five years. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and sentences, holding that the trial court (1) did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence that the victim had been previously exposed to allegedly pornographic material on the internet; and (2) did not abuse its discretion in granting the Commonwealth’s motion to strike a juror for cause over defense objection. View "Basham v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) any error in the admission of a state police detective’s testimony regarding Appellant’s invocation of his right to an attorney was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the trial court did not err by refusing to allow Appellant’s forensic expert witness to sit with defense counsel during the testimony of the Commonwealth’s expert witnesses; (3) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant’s request for an instruction on first-degree manslaughter based upon extreme emotional disturbance; and (4) Appellant was not entitled to a new penalty phase trial even though the sentencing protocols as provided for in Ky. Rev. Stat. 532.025(3) were not followed in this case, as this deviation from the statutory procedure did not affect the ultimate sentence or jeopardize Appellant’s right to due process of law. View "Spears v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of third-degree terroristic threatening, other firearm-related offenses, and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant appealed, arguing, among other things, that a Batson violation occurred as a result of one of the peremptory strikes made by the Commonwealth. The Supreme Court vacated Appellant’s conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding (1) a Batson violation occurred when the prosecutor struck an African-American juror from the jury pool and failed to provide a cognizable race-neutral reason for striking the juror; and (2) therefore, the trial court’s overruling of Appellant’s Batson challenge was an abuse of discretion. View "Johnson v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law