The Appellate Group

State v. Johnson

State v. Johnson, 2025 UT App 63 (Christiansen Forster, J.)

Criminal Law

The Utah Court of Appeals held:

  • Defendant did not demonstrate prejudice from allegedly incorrect jury instructions, defeating his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
  • Practice tip: When the State provides overwhelming evidence that a defendant was not justified in using deadly force, the Strickland prejudice prong is not satisfied even if jury instructions fail to properly instruct on perfect self-defense.

Read the full court opinion