The Appellate Group

State v. Young

State v. Young, 2026 UT App 64 (Tenney, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Court of Appeals held:

(1) The district court erred in refusing to give an instruction on defense of habitation.
(2) Trial counsel was not ineffective by failing to request a self-defense instruction because Defendant was not entitled to such an instruction.

Practice tip:

The court left open the possibility for future cases to brief and argue that defense of “habitation” extends to the “curtilage” of a house, including the yard.

Read the full court opinion