State v. Cesspooch
State v. Cesspooch, 2024 UT App 15 (Tenney, J.)
Criminal Law
The State charged the defendant with two crimes: possession or use of a controlled substance and possession or use of drug paraphernalia. A jury convicted the defendant of the paraphernalia charge, but acquitted him of the controlled substance charge. Defendant appealed arguing the court committed plain error when it informed jurors of the classifications for the offenses. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- The district court obviously erred when it informed the jury of the classifications for the two charged offenses because sentencing is the court’s prerogative and not the jury’s, but the defendant did not show that the error prejudiced him.