Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of one count of complicity to murder and one count of first-degree complicity to robbery. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder count and to twenty years on the robbery count. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and sentences, holding (1) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant’s motions for mistrial after the Commonwealth referenced two of the three co-indictees’ guilty pleas in the presence of the jury; (2) the trial court did not err by admitting eighteen jail letters written by Appellant and her co-indictee into evidence; and (3) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant’s motion for a mistrial after the jury briefly accessed inadmissible evidence during deliberations. View "Mayse v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial in 1993, Appellant was found guilty of murdering two brothers, Rodney Vaughn and Lynn Vaughn. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death for both murders. In 2013, Appellant filed a motion for post-conviction relief alleging that he was entitled to a new trial based on “newly discovered evidence.” Appellant’s challenge to his convictions was founded upon a report prepared by John Nixon, a forensic expert on firearms and ballistics, who concluded that new information supported Appellant’s version of events, thereby supporting Appellant’s claim that he acted in self-defense in shooting Rodney and that Rodney shot Lynn. The trial court summarily denied Appellant’s motion without conducting an evidentiary hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the “newly discovered evidence” presented by Appellant fell short of the standards that must be met to obtain such relief. View "Foley v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, Appellant alleged, inter alia, that he was entitled to a directed verdict and that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of other acts. The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s conviction and remanded for further proceedings, holding (1) Appellant was not entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal and therefore may be retried; and (2) the trial court’s admission of the other acts evidence was error under Ky. R. Evid. 404(b) given the Commonwealth’s failure to establish proof of the factual condition necessary to make it relevant, and the error was not harmless and prejudiced Appellant. View "Southworth v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Appellant was convicted of rape in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, and assault in the fourth degree, third offense. The trial in this case was trifurcated. During the first phase, the jury convicted Appellant of fourth-degree assault, and during the second phase, the jury convicted Appellant of fourth-degree assault, third offense based on two prior convictions of fourth-degree assault. The Supreme Court reversed the portion of the judgment convicting Appellant of fourth-degree assault, third offense, and vacated the corresponding sentence for that offense, holding that the evidence was insufficient to support the charge and that retrial for the charge was precluded under the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment. Because Appellant was not sentenced for the fourth-degree assault conviction, however, the case was remanded for sentencing for that conviction. View "Galloway v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree sexual abuse for an incident involving his fourteen-year-old stepdaughter. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) insufficient evidence supported Appellant’s conviction for first-degree rape because the Commonwealth did not prove the “forcible compulsion” element; (2) the trial court did not err in admitting Appellant’s computer password into evidence; and (3) the trial court committed reversible error when it did not allow Appellant to ask the victim about her prior inconsistent statement, and thus, Appellant’s conviction for first-degree sexual abuse must also be reversed. Remanded. View "Yates v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Appellee was the target of a drug investigation conducted by investigators from the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) and Operation UNITE, a task force receiving federal funds that investigates drug-related crimes. No local law enforcement officer or entity participated in the investigation. Two indictments were returned by a Powell County grand jury charging Appellee with several drug-related offenses. Appellee moved to dismiss the indictments against him, holding that neither the OAG officers nor the Operation UNITE detectives had jurisdiction to conduct the investigation. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the OAG was not vested with statewide jurisdiction to investigate drug crimes. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Ky. Rev. Stat. 218A.240(1) specifically vests the OAG with the authority to enforce and investigate drug crimes throughout the Commonwealth. View "Commonwealth v. Johnson" on Justia Law

In 2005, Appellant entered an Alford plea to eleven counts of first-degree robbery and was sentenced to twenty-one years imprisonment. In 2008, Appellant filed a pro se motion to vacate his sentence pursuant to Ky. R. Crim. P. 11.42, alleging that his counsel had provided ineffective assistance by misinforming him that he would be eligible for parole when he had served twenty percent of his sentence. The trial court denied the motion without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Appellant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in failing to grant an evidentiary hearing on the specific allegation of ineffective assistance of trial counsel pertaining to his parole eligibility. The court of appeals concluded that Appellant failed to preserve his right to appeal the summary denial of his Rule 11.42 motion because he did not request additional findings pursuant to Rule 11.42(6). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Appellant did not waive his right to appeal the trial court’s failure to hold an evidentiary hearing on his Rule 11.42 motion. View "Cawl v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of robbery in the first degree and of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree for robbing a cashier clerk at a convenience store at knifepoint. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court (1) did not err by allowing three witnesses to identify Appellant as the perpetrator on the store surveillance video and in still shot photos; (2) did not err or violate Appellant’s due process rights by denying Appellant’s motion for a continuance of trial; and (3) did not err by denying Appellant’s motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. View "Morgan v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

Appellant entered a conditional guilty plea to manufacturing methamphetamine and second-degree persistent felony offender status. On appeal, Appellant argued that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the drug-related evidence seized by a state police officer and a parole officer during a warrantless search of his residence while he was a parolee. Specifically, Appellant argued that the warrantless search was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment because the parole officers did not have reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of Appellant’s motion to suppress, holding that because the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit a police officer from conducting a suspicionless search of a parolee, Appellant had no basis for application of the exclusionary rule. View "Bratcher v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, alcohol intoxication, and criminal trespass. For his crimes, Appellant received a twenty-five-year prison sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction and corresponding sentence, holding that the trial court did not err by (1) denying Appellant’s motion to suppress statements he made during his interrogation at police headquarters; (2) failing to suppress the evidence of subsequent statements made during Appellant’s hospitalization; (3) denying Appellant’s motion to suppress evidence of hair comparisons; and (4) finding Appellant in criminal contempt of court. View "Meskimen v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law