Justia Arizona Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of felony murder and two counts of kidnapping. Defendant was sentenced to death for each murder. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) under the corpus delicti rule, the State met its burden for both kidnapping charges, and therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting incriminating statements Defendant made to a television reporter; (2) the trial court did not commit fundamental error by failing to give an accomplice instruction; (3) the court’s exclusion of certain expert testimony did not violate Defendant’s right to present a defense or to a fair trial; (4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to give a Willits instruction; (5) the use of Defendant’s kidnappings convictions, which were the predicate felonies for Defendant’s felony-murder convictions, to aggravate his sentence was not unconstitutional; (6) the prosecutor did not engage in misconduct during closing arguments; (7) any error in the trial court’s admission of victim impact statements was harmless; and (8) the remainder of Defendant’s arguments regarding his convictions and sentences were without merit. View "State v. Carlson" on Justia Law

Law enforcement officers initiated a traffic stop that ultimately led to Defendant’s arrest for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and aggravated driving under the influence. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence on the ground that the officers lacked reasonable suspicion to pull him over. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that reasonable suspicion under the Fourth Amendment does not require officers to testify about how their observations reduce or eliminate the possibility that the innocent motoring public will be subject to seizures and does not require trial courts to make specific findings on that issue. View "State v. Evans" on Justia Law

After it was discovered that Defendant kept up mercury in his house, a firefighter and police officer entered Defendant’s home without a warrant in order to investigate. Once inside, the officer smelled marijuana and eventually discovered marijuana plants in the laundry room. Defendant was charged with production of marijuana and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress, concluding that exigent circumstances permitted the warrantless search. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the search was not justified by exceptions to the warrant requirement. The Supreme Court affirmed a portion of the court of appeals’ opinion, ordered that the opinion be republished, and reversed the trial court’s order denying the motion to suppress, holding (1) the community caretaking exception does not apply to homes; and (2) if exigent circumstances or an emergency are present, police may make a warrantless entry into the home under those exceptions. Remanded. View "State v. Wilson" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and misconduct involving weapons. The trial court imposed the death sentence for the murder conviction. Defendant appealed, raising twenty-six issues. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentences, holding (1) the trial court did not prejudicially err in its pretrial rulings, guilt phase rulings, or penalty phase rulings; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support the convictions; (3) the prosecutor did not engage in misconduct throughout the trial; and (4) a sentence of death was the appropriate sentence in this case. View "State v. Burns" on Justia Law

In 2007, Defendant was convicted for possession of methamphetamine for sale. Defendant filed a notice of post-conviction relief (PCR), but the trial court dismissed the proceeding after Defendant’s new attorney failed to timely file a petition. Defendant then filed a second PCR notice through a different attorney. The trial court again dismissed the matter after Defendant’s new attorney failed to timely file a petition. Defendant initiated a third PCR proceeding, and a third attorney timely filed Defendant’s first PCR petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC). The trial court denied the petition. The court of appeals also denied relief, concluding that Defendant waived his claim pursuant to Ariz. R. Crim. P. 32.2(a)(3). The Supreme Court vacated the judgments of the lower courts, holding that because former counsel failed to file any petition in Defendant’s previous PCR proceedings and those failures were not Defendant’s fault, Defendant did not waive his IAC claim. View "State v. Diaz" on Justia Law

While executing a warrant authorizing the search of a home, police found Defendant, who was not named in the warrant, in the home. Police proceeded to search Defendant’s purse. Defendant was subsequently charged with possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence found in her purse, arguing that the search of her purse was unlawful because she was not named in the warrant. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that police were permitted to search the purse. The Supreme Court affirmed after adopting the possession test, under which officers may search personal items that are not in their owners’ possession when police find them in executing a premises search warrant, holding that because Defendant did not physically possess her purse when the officers found it, they were authorized to search it for the items listed in the warrant. View "State v. Gilstrap" on Justia Law

After a police officers had a consensual encounter with Defendant, they asked Defendant if he had any firearms. Defendant replied that he had a gun. The officers then frisked Defendant, removed the gun, and arrested Defendant as a prohibited possessor of a firearm. Defendant moved to suppress the gun as the fruit of an unconstitutional search. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion, concluding that once the officers became aware that Defendant had a gun, they were allowed to remove the gun and conduct a pat down for safety purposes. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction and sentence, holding that, during an initially consensual encounter with an individual, an officer must have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot before frisking the individual. View "State v. Serna" on Justia Law

Appellant was placed on probation. Appellant’s appointed counsel filed a notice of appeal. The Office of the Public Defender assigned the case to an attorney. Appellant informed the trial court, as well as her attorney, that she wished to represent herself on appeal, but her requests were ignored. Appellant’s counsel then filed a motion with the court of appeals seeking leave for Appellant to represent herself. The court of appeals denied the motion, concluding that although there was no constitutional right to self-representation on appeal, self-representation was permitted if the request was timely, and Appellant’s request was untimely. The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals’ decision, holding (1) the Arizona Constitution provides a defendant with a right to self-representation on appeal, and (2) the request for self-representation on appeal must be made no later than thirty days after the filing of the notice of appeal. Remanded. View "Coleman v. Hon. Johnsen" on Justia Law

In 2006, the City of Phoenix started installing light rail tracks along Jefferson Street, which abutted Appellant’s property. As part of the installation, the City erected a permanent concrete barrier between the tracks and Appellant’s property, thus blocking two driveways providing vehicular access from Jefferson Street to Appellant’s property. The property, however, still had access via Madison Street. The City subsequently filed an eminent domain action to determine the compensation it owed to Appellant for a temporary construction easement Appellant granted the City. Appellant counterclaimed, seeking damages for his permanent loss of access to Jefferson Street. The superior court granted summary judgment to the City on that claim, concluding that a property owner is not entitled to compensation for loss of access if he retains “free and convenient access” to the property. The court of appeals vacated the superior court’s ruling, concluding that the government may not eliminate a property owner’s established access to an abutting roadway without providing just compensation to the property owner. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under these circumstances, an owner may claim compensable damage to private property within the meaning of Ariz. Const. art. II, 17, even if other streets provide access to the property. View "City of Phoenix v. Garretson" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder for stabbing his pregnant girlfriend, killing her and the unborn baby. Appellant was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and death sentences, holding that the trial court did not (1) err in denying Appellant’s motion to suppress his post-arrest confession; (2) err in striking a juror for cause; (3) err in screening and limiting questions used in a written questionnaire sent to prospective jurors; (4) err in precluding or limiting the testimony of three defense witnesses; (5) commit fundamental error by allowing evidence of statements Appellant made four years before the murders; (6) abuse its discretion in finding that the State’s mental health expert qualified as an expert in intellectual disability and in therefore allowing the expert to testify on the issue of Appellant’s intellectual ability; and (7) violate Appellant’s right to counsel by not declaring a mistrial based on the alleged ineffectiveness of Appellant’s trial attorneys. In addition, the jury did not abuse its discretion in finding aggravating circumstances and in determining that death was the appropriate sentence. View "State v. Naranjo" on Justia Law