Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Kentucky Supreme Court
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A man, convicted of murder, tampering with physical evidence, and possession of a handgun by a felon, appealed his convictions and sentence to the Supreme Court of Kentucky. The case centered around the shooting death of a bar owner. The defendant argued that he shot in self-defense during a struggle, but the prosecution argued that the defendant was the initial aggressor, pointing to high-quality security camera footage that captured the events leading up to and following the shooting.The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision. The Court found that the defendant was not in custody when initially questioned at the hospital, so his Miranda rights were not violated. The Court also ruled that the trial court did not err in issuing an "initial aggressor" limitation to the jury's self-defense instructions, as the defendant’s act of pointing a gun at the victim constituted "physical force" under Kentucky law. Finally, while the trial court erred in the manner it polled the jury, the Supreme Court found the error was not "palpable" and would not have changed the result of the case. View "BOWMAN V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY" on Justia Law

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In this case, Bennett D. Couch was convicted by the Kenton Circuit Court for possession and transfer of child pornography in violation of Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 531.335 and 531.340. The conviction was based on evidence procured through search warrants for Couch's Tumblr account, apartment, cell phones, and computers. The investigation was initiated after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported that three pornographic images of children were being circulated online, which were traced back to Couch's IP address. Couch challenged the constitutionality of KRS 531.330’s presumption as to minority and the legality of the search of her apartment.The Supreme Court of Kentucky, in an opinion delivered by Chief Justice VanMeter, affirmed the lower court's decision. The court held that Couch's constitutional challenge was not considered as she failed to provide the required notice to the Attorney General. Regarding the legality of the search, the court determined that the search warrant affidavits provided substantial basis for the issuing judge to conclude that probable cause existed to issue the original search warrant, despite Couch's claims that the affidavits lacked probable cause, failed to identify the criminal statutes violated, and did not establish a nexus between the criminal activity and her apartment. The court also dismissed Couch's claims of prosecutorial misconduct and failure of the trial court to properly consider the Presentence Investigation Report due to lack of procedural compliance. View "Couch v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

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In 2024, the Supreme Court of Kentucky reviewed the case of Kory E. Helmick who was convicted by a Greenup County jury of two counts of sodomy in the third degree, one count of sodomy in the first degree, one count of sexual abuse in the first degree, and one count of unlawful use of an electronic communication system to procure a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited activity. The victim, J.K., was a minor in foster care who lived with Helmick and Helmick’s husband intermittently from the age of 13 to 15. Helmick appealed his conviction, arguing three points of error: the trial court's denial of his request to postpone the trial, insufficient proof supporting the sodomy in the first degree conviction, and violation of his right to be free from double jeopardy due to convictions for both sodomy in the first degree and in the third degree.The Supreme Court of Kentucky rejected all three allegations. First, the court found no abuse of discretion by the trial court in denying Helmick's request to postpone the trial. The request was based on the desire to conduct a forensic analysis of the victim's cell phone, but the court found Helmick had ample time to conduct this analysis before the trial and did not provide an affidavit showing the materiality of the evidence expected to be obtained from the phone, which was required for such a request.Second, regarding the sufficiency of the proof for the sodomy in the first degree conviction, the court found that there was more than a mere scintilla of evidence supporting the conviction. The victim's testimony that he was "incapacitated" and "incapable of moving" due to alcohol intoxication was seen as evidence that he was physically helpless during the sexual abuse, a requirement for a conviction of sodomy in the first degree.Finally, the court rejected Helmick's double jeopardy claim, finding that his convictions for sodomy in the first and third degrees were based on separate criminal acts and thus did not violate his right to be free from being tried twice for the same offense.The Supreme Court of Kentucky therefore affirmed the judgment of the Greenup Circuit Court. View "Helmick v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

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In November 2013, Ahmad Rashad Davis was indicted for Medicaid fraud and theft by deception for defrauding Medicaid of $14,505.36 by falsifying timesheets over two years. In May 2014, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Davis entered into a plea agreement in which Davis agreed to plead guilty to Medicaid fraud, and in exchange, the Commonwealth recommended to the trial court that Davis's theft by deception charge be dismissed. The trial court accepted Davis's guilty plea and sentenced him to one year of imprisonment, probated for three years or until restitution was paid in full, and dismissed the theft by deception charge. In December 2021, Davis filed a petition to expunge the theft by deception charge. The Commonwealth objected, arguing that the charge was dismissed in exchange for Davis's guilty plea to Medicaid fraud, making it ineligible for expungement under Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 431.076(1)(b). The circuit court granted Davis's petition without holding a hearing, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision. The Supreme Court of Kentucky granted discretionary review and reversed the decisions of the lower courts.The Supreme Court of Kentucky held that a circuit court can look beyond the sentencing court's final judgment to determine whether a dismissal was granted in exchange for a guilty plea to another charge. The court ruled that the circuit court erred in failing to do so in Davis's case. As a result, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and vacated the circuit court's order granting expungement. View "COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY V. DAVIS" on Justia Law

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In a case involving Steven Roark who was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, and tampering with physical evidence, the Supreme Court of Kentucky reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals, which had held that the jury instruction for manufacturing methamphetamine violated Roark's right to a unanimous verdict. In the case, the police had found Roark in a trailer with an active methamphetamine lab, along with multiple items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The jury instructions allowed for a conviction based on either of two theories under Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 218A.1432 - either that Roark knowingly manufactured methamphetamine, or that he knowingly possessed two or more items of equipment or chemicals with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Roark argued that such instruction violated his right to a unanimous verdict. However, the Supreme Court of Kentucky found no error in the jury instruction, concluding that both theories were supported by the evidence presented at trial, and thus did not violate Roark's right to a unanimous verdict. The court thereby affirmed the judgment and sentence of the trial court as to Roark’s manufacturing conviction. View "Commonwealth v. Roark" on Justia Law

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In the case at hand, Jose Sanchez was convicted of five counts of first-degree rape and four counts of third-degree rape. The Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed these convictions, holding that the text messages and videos were properly authenticated. The court also found that Sanchez was not entitled to a missing evidence instruction regarding his cellphone, as the data extracted from it was preserved, and the phone itself contained no evidence. However, the court reversed and vacated the trial court's imposition of public defender fees against Sanchez, ruling that the imposition of public defender fees was an error as the trial court failed to hold a hearing and determine that Sanchez should not continue to be considered an indigent person. The court also held that the cumulative error did not occur in this case. View "SANCHEZ V. COMMONWEALTH" on Justia Law

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In the case before the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the defendant, Gregory Stephens, was convicted of first-degree rape and being a persistent felony offender in the second-degree. The conviction was based on the testimony of the child victim, Amy, and was supported by the testimony of additional witnesses who recounted Amy's prior hearsay statements and vouched for her credibility. Stephens appealed, arguing that the inclusion of these hearsay statements and credibility endorsements rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. The Supreme Court of Kentucky agreed, reversing and remanding the case.The court found that the evidence against Stephens consisted entirely of Amy's statements. There was no physical evidence, and the only other possible witness, Amy's mother, did not testify. The court held that the prosecution was erroneously allowed to elicit testimony from additional witnesses to bolster Amy's testimony, amounting to palpable error. Furthermore, the court found that multiple witnesses were improperly allowed to vouch for Amy's credibility.The court also noted that the deputy jailer's testimony about the impact of the rape on Amy during the guilt phase was improperly admitted. The court stated that such victim impact evidence is not permissible during the guilt phase of the trial.The court concluded that the combined errors of hearsay bolstering, vouching testimony, and victim impact testimony rendered the trial fundamentally unfair and demanded a reversal of the conviction. The case was remanded for a new trial. View "STEPHENS V. COMMONWEALTH" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed the convictions of Jaikorian J. Johnson for second-degree manslaughter and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment but reversed the sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase due to palpable error in the victim impact statement. Johnson was convicted for shooting dead one person and injuring another, arguing self-defense. On appeal, Johnson raised three issues: the exclusion of two witnesses' testimony regarding the victim's alleged criminal scheme at the time of shooting; the failure to direct verdicts on all four counts of wanton endangerment; and the impropriety and prejudicial nature of the victim impact statement. The court held that the exclusion of character evidence of the victim was not an abuse of discretion because it was irrelevant and inadmissible under KRS 404(b). The court also held that the directed verdicts for the four counts of wanton endangerment were justified because substantial danger existed for the people in the vicinity when Johnson fired his gun. However, the court found palpable error in the victim's mother's impact statement, which included biblical references urging the death penalty and unproven accusations of witness intimidation, thereby seriously affecting the fairness of the proceedings. View "JOHNSON V. COMMONWEALTH" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court of Kentucky upheld the conviction of Eric Berry, who was found guilty of first-degree burglary, first-degree sexual assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, first-degree fleeing or evading, and resisting arrest. The court rejected Berry's appeal that his right to a speedy trial was violated, arguing that delays in his trial were due to valid reasons such as Berry's own actions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and personal reasons of his attorneys. The court also denied Berry's argument that the trial court erred in not giving an intoxication defense instruction, stating that while Berry was intoxicated during the incident, he clearly knew what he was doing and acted deliberately. The court further dismissed Berry's claim that his former testimony from a domestic violence hearing should have been allowed, as the Commonwealth did not have an opportunity to cross-examine him during that hearing. Additionally, the court found no error in the joinder of the April and December incidents for the trial, as Berry failed to demonstrate actual prejudice from the record. Lastly, the court rejected Berry's claim for cumulative error, as they found no error in the other arguments presented. View "BERRY V. COMMONWEALTH" on Justia Law

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Three sisters, Danielle, Angela, and Alyssa, were placed in the custody of their aunt, Kathy Riggle, and her husband, William Kenneth Riggle Sr. (Senior) in 2009 due to their parents' struggles with drug abuse. For the eight years they lived with the Riggles, the sisters alleged that they were sexually abused by Senior and his son, William Kenneth Riggle Jr. (Junior). The abuse was reported in 2017 after the girls were returned to the custody of their mother. Senior was charged with and convicted of multiple counts of sodomy in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, and intimidating a participant in the legal process. The trial court imposed a 70-year sentence in line with Kentucky law. Senior appealed, raising four allegations of error.The Supreme Court of Kentucky found no reversible error and affirmed the convictions. It held that the trial court correctly admitted testimony from two other minor girls who had experienced inappropriate sexual conduct from Senior, as this evidence demonstrated a pattern of conduct and was not merely proof of propensity. The Court also ruled that the testimony from Angela's school counselor was admissible for rehabilitative purposes, as it was offered to explain an inconsistency in Angela's testimony, not to verify the truth of her allegations. The Court further held that any issues with jury instructions regarding unanimity did not rise to palpable error, given the overwhelming weight of evidence against Senior. Finally, the Court found that the trial court did not err in failing to direct a verdict of acquittal on certain counts, as the Commonwealth had produced more than a mere scintilla of evidence to support the charges. View "RIGGLE V. COMMONWEALTH" on Justia Law