The Appellate Group

Johnson v. State

Johnson v. State, 2026 UT 6 (Hagen, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Supreme Court held:

A defendant was not prejudiced by a jury instruction that contained a flaw in the second prong of the instruction when the jury found him guilty of the greater offense, thereby suggesting that the jury only needed to look at the first prong of the instruction.

Practice tip:

While a reversal of a lower court’s ruling typically leaves unaddressed rulings unaffected by a reversal on other grounds, when a higher court vacates a lower court’s opinion, the lower court’s ruling loses all precedential effect.

Read the full court opinion

by The Appellate Group

2026, Q1

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