State v. Newberry
State v. Newberry, 2025 UT App 176 (Luthy, J.)
Criminal
The Utah Court of Appeals held:
- The district court did not err in admitting girl’s testimony regarding uncharged sexual conduct because evidence of uncharged, inextricably intertwined sexual conduct against the same child victim is admissible as intrinsic evidence.
- Counsel was not ineffective by not objecting to testimony regarding other incidents of inappropriate comments and contact.
- Counsel was not ineffective by eliciting girl’s testimony that she exchanged nude photos with Defendant because it was not unreasonable trial strategy to attempt to paint her in a negative light or question her credibility.
- Judicial tip: Rule 404(b) does not apply to evidence of uncharged, inextricably intertwined sexual conduct against the same child victim because this type of evidence is admissible as intrinsic evidence. The Court of Appeals noted that this evidence is considered intrinsic because showing how the perpetrator groomed the victim bears directly on the charged sexual offense.