The Appellate Group

State v. Elliott

State v. Elliott, 2026 UT App 49 (Orme, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Court of Appeals held:

(1) The district court erred in denying bindover.
(2) Because no appellee brief was filed on behalf of Defendant, and no one appeared in the appeal on his behalf, the appellant State’s burden of persuasion was significantly lowered. The State made a prima facie showing of a plausible basis for finding probable cause for all three counts.

Practice tip:

An appellee’s failure to file a responsive brief drastically lowers the burden of persuasion for an appellant.

Read the full court opinion