State v. Johnson
State v. Johnson, 2025 UT App 63 (Christiansen Forster, J.)
Criminal Law
The Utah Court of Appeals held:
- Defendant did not demonstrate prejudice from allegedly incorrect jury instructions, defeating his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
- Practice tip: When the State provides overwhelming evidence that a defendant was not justified in using deadly force, the Strickland prejudice prong is not satisfied even if jury instructions fail to properly instruct on perfect self-defense.