Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant was convicted of wanton murder, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, and two counts of second-degree wanton endangerment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court properly denied Appellant's pretrial motion to suppress the recorded interview he gave to the police shortly after his arrest; (2) Appellant was not entitled to a directed verdict on two of the counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, as sufficient evidence supported the charges; (3) while the trial court erred by failing to give a definitional instruction corresponding with the self-protection instruction, the error did not result in a manifest injustice under the circumstances of this case; and (4) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant's request to give an instruction to the jury defining reasonable doubt. View "Smith v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of several drug-related offenses. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part, holding (1) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant's request for a jury instruction on criminal facilitation as a lesser included offense to manufacturing methamphetamine; (2) because Appellant did not request an instruction on unlawful possession of a methamphetamine precursor, Appellant was not entitled to relief on his argument that the trial court erred by failing to give this instruction; and (3) the trial court clearly erred by imposing fines upon Appellant, who was indigent, for his misdemeanor convictions. View "Roberts v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree fleeing or evading the police and several other crimes. Appellant challenged his conviction for fleeing or evading and claimed that the trial court erred in not allowing the jurors to use their notes during deliberations. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on the charge of first-degree fleeing or evading police; and (2) the trial court erred in prohibiting jurors from taking their notes into the jury room for deliberations, but the error was not reversible under palpable-error review. View "McCleery v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder and tampering with physical evidence. Appellant was subsequently sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. The Supreme Court (1) reversed Appellant's conviction for tampering with physical evidence and vacated his sentence for that conviction, holding that a directed verdict of acquittal should have been entered on the tampering charge, as there was insufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could fairly find Appellant guilty of tampering with physical evidence; and (2) affirmed Appellant's murder conviction and corresponding sentence, holding that the court did not reversibly err in its judgment regarding this conviction. View "McAtee v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). Appellant appealed, alleging several errors that were not preserved for appellate review. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, holding (1) Appellant's allegations of error in the jury instructions were foreclosed and not subject to appellate review; (2) the trial court erred in introducing evidence during the penalty phase that included references to prior charges that were dismissed or amended to lesser offenses, but the error was not palpable; and (3) improper statements made during the prosecutor's penalty phase closing argument were not palpable error. View "Martin v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was conviction of wanton murder, three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree, criminal mischief, and assault in the fourth degree. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, holding (1) Appellant's argument that the trial court abused its discretion when it refused to excuse a juror for cause on the basis of a lack of impartiality was unpreserved for appellate review; and (2) the trial court did not err when it denied Appellant's motion for directed verdict as to Appellant's wanton murder and wanton endangerment charges, as it was not unreasonable for the jury to convict Appellant of the charges. View "Hurt v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of trafficking in marijuana over five pounds and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. The court of appeals reversed, holding (1) the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of Appellee's prior bad conduct in violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. 404(b); and (2) the prosecutor improperly misstated the facts during closing arguments. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the admission of the prior bad act evidence was proper; and (2) the prosecutor's misstatement of the evidence in his closing argument was a harmless error because his correction of his misstatement cured any prejudicial effect that might otherwise have arisen. View "Commonwealth v. Tramble" on Justia Law

After law enforcement officers apprehended Defendant's friend, Justin Masengale, Susan Martin identified Masengale as one of two assailants who grabbed her purse and struck her in the face. Masengale was then transported to the police station, where he identified Defendant as the other assailant. Masengale moved to suppress the out-of-court identification by Martin, arguing that it was tainted by pre-identification actions by the police. Defendant joined in Masengale's motion, arguing that Masengale's identification of him was tainted because Martin's identification of Masengale was tainted. The trial court denied the motions to suppress after a hearing at which Martin did not testify. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the trial court did not have sufficient evidence to determine that Martin's out-of-court identification of Masengale was reliable absent Martin's testimony. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court did not err in finding (1) the circumstances surrounding the show-up identification by Martin were unduly suggestive; but (2) Martin's show-up identification of Masengale was reliable. View "Commonwealth v. Parker" on Justia Law

Appellee was indicted for murder for the shooting death of her husband. Appellee admitted that she killed her husband but claimed she was acting in self-defense. The jury acquitted Appellee of the murder charge but found her guilty of the lesser offense of reckless homicide. On appeal, the court of appeals reversed the conviction, determining that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a reckless homicide conviction and that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on that offense. The Supreme Court reversed and reinstate the judgment of the circuit court, holding that the reckless homicide instruction was properly given in this case. View "Commonwealth v. Hasch" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of second-degree burglary and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant was sentenced to a total sentence of fifteen years. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction. Appellant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the identification made during a photo lineup and the in-court identification made at trial were impermissible. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in the pre-trial identification procedure or in a witness's identification of the Appellant in trial; and (2) the testimony given about the fingerprints lifted off a piece of evidence was not erroneously admitted. View "Barnes v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law