Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 2000, Appellant pled guilty to one count of theft by deception and was sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment, probated for a period of five years. After Appellant failed to report to her probation officer, the trial court issued a warrant for her arrest. In 2011, Appellant was finally served with the arrest warrant. After a probation revocation hearing, the trial court dismissed the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke Appellant’s probation, determining that Appellant’s period of probation had already expired. The court of appeals reversed, concluded that because Appellant “intentionally absconded,” she was barred from claiming that her probationary period had expired. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the issuance of a warrant for a probation violation will toll the period of probation preventing the probationer from being automatically discharged pursuant to Ky. Rev. Stat. 533.020(4); (2) the warrant, however, must be issued before the expiration of the period of probation; and (3) since the circuit court issued a warrant for Appellant’s arrest within the five-year probationary period, it retained jurisdiction to conduct a probation revocation hearing.View "Whitcomb v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree sodomy and first-degree burglary, enhanced by the status offense of persistent felony offender (PFO) in the second degree, and was sentenced to thirty-five years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court (1) did not err by denying Appellant's motion for a directed verdict on the first-degree burglary charge; (2) properly applied Ky. R. Evid. 412, the rape shield rule, to prohibit admission of evidence of the victim's sexual history; and (3) did not err in allowing the Commonwealth to proceed to trial on the PFO charge. View "Minter v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment, and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, among other charges. The Supreme Court affirmed except as to Defendant's conviction for wanton endangerment, which the Court reversed, holding (1) the trial court did not violate Defendant's due process right to a fair trial by failing to remove two jurors for cause; (2) the trial court did not violate Defendant's right to confrontation by introducing a hospital laboratory report without the testimony of the person who prepared the report; but (3) the prosecution of the wanton endangerment charge violated Defendant's double jeopardy rights, and the wanton endangerment instruction violated Defendant's right to a unanimous verdict. Remanded.View "Little v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Appellant was indicted for the crimes of murder, wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence, and trafficking in marijuana while in possession of a firearm. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of the charges and sentenced to twenty-four years imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence, holding that the trial court (1) did not violate Appellant's constitutional right to counsel by denying Appellant's motion to dismiss the indictments against him; (2) did not err in denying Appellant's motion to suppress statements he made to police detectives because Appellant did not unambiguously invoke his right to an attorney; (3) did not err in its evidentiary rulings; (4) did not err in denying Appellant's motion for a directed verdict on the trafficking in marijuana charge; and (5) did not err by denying Appellant's motion for a mistrial after the Commonwealth failed to redact portions of Appellant's recorded interview with the detectives.View "Brown v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of intentional murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred when it (1) denied her motion to suppress statements she gave to police after a polygraph examination because she did not knowingly and voluntarily waive her Miranda rights, and (2) failed to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of first-degree manslaughter. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's conviction and sentence, holding (1) the trial court did not err in admitting Appellant's statements given to the police because, under the totality of the circumstances, nothing showed that Appellant did not knowingly and voluntarily waive her rights as to her post-polygraph interview with police; and (2) Appellant's argument that the trial court failed to give an instruction on first-degree manslaughter was not properly preserved and not subject to palpable-error review.View "Wise v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Appellee entered guilty pleas to three charges of theft by unlawful taking over $300. The final judgment provided that Appellee be placed on supervised probation for five years and pay restitution. After the expiration of Appellee's probationary period, the Commonwealth moved to revoke Appellee's probation based upon his failure to pay restitution. The circuit court denied the motion, concluding that, pursuant to Conrad v. Evridge, the circuit court was without jurisdiction to revoke Appellee's probation. In so holding, the circuit court rejected the Commonwealth's argument that Ky. Rev. Stat. 533.020(4) operated to automatically extend Appellee's probationary period so long as he failed to complete payment of the restitution as ordered. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) section 533.020(4) authorizes a trial court to extend the duration of a sentence of probation only if such an extension is necessary for payment of restitution; and (2) upon expiration of Appellee's probationary period, the trial court lost jurisdiction over the case and was without authority to revoke Appellee's probation.View "Commonwealth v. Wright" on Justia Law

Defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained from a search of her vehicle during an investigatory stop. The trial court denied the motion. Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to several drug-related charges and subsequently appealed. The court of appeals reversed, concluding (1) Defendant was detained for an unreasonably prolonged amount of time; and (2) the officers lacked reasonable suspicion to extend the duration of the stop beyond the time needed to complete a citation for a traffic violation. The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals and affirmed the circuit court's order denying Defendant's motion to suppress, holding (1) Defendant was detained beyond the time necessary to effectuate the purpose of the traffic stop; but (2) the prolonging of Defendant's detention was justified by at least a reasonable and articulable suspicion that she was engaged in criminal activity.View "Commonwealth v. Bucalo" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of first-degree assault and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed one of Appellant's convictions for first-degree assault, reversed the other conviction, and remanded, holding (1) the trial court did not commit reversible error by failing to strike three prospective jurors for cause, failing to provide limiting instructions, or allowing a fact witness to present an expert opinion; (2) the Commonwealth's question to Appellant was to whether it was lawful for him to possess a firearm was not reversible error; but (3) the Commonwealth's proof did not support a conviction for one of the first-degree assault convictions.View "McDaniel v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment enhanced to twenty years’ imprisonment due to Appellant’s status as a persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in phrasing the jury instructions in a manner that unfairly suggested to the jury that it had to acquit on the higher degree of homicide before considering any lesser offense was not eligible for appellate review; and (2) Appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in reading the jury instructions at the beginning of the penalty phase instead of at the conclusion of the proof was not preserved for appellate review. View "Webster v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of the use of a weapon of mass destruction in the second degree for and attempted murder for installing a pipe bomb in a car. Appellant was sentenced to forty years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant’s conviction did not violate double jeopardy principles; (2) the trial court did not err in finding that serious physical injury occurred to the victim and in sentencing Appellant as a violent offender; (3) the trial court’s refusal to allow the jurors to use their notes during deliberations was not reversible error; and (4) Appellant was not wrongly denied his motion for directed verdict. View "Biederman v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law