The Appellate Group

State v. Nelson

State v. Nelson, 2026 UT 33 (Nielsen, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Supreme Court held:

(1) The court of appeals erred in determining that reasonable counsel would have moved for a directed verdict because there was sufficient evidence that Defendant fled with the purpose of avoiding arrest. So, any motion would have been futile.
(2) The court of appeals erred in viewing the evidence in Defendant’s favor rather than in favor of the verdict. The case was remanded for the court of appeals to rule on Defendant’s alternate agreement not previously addressed by the court of appeals.

Judicial tip:

For a claim of ineffective assistance, courts should look at not just “whether there was any evidence or reasonable inferences that supported the jury verdict, but whether reasonable counsel could have concluded that there was.”

Read the full court opinion