Appeals court weighs whether officer testimony and body-cam video prejudiced Brown's trial

Salt Lake City oral argument: The Utah Court of Appeals heard a criminal appeal in State v. Brown in which defense counsel argued two primary grounds for reversal: (1) inadmissible expert- or opinion-style testimony by a detective that the earlier vehicle "ramming" constituted criminal mischief rather than aggravated assault, which defense counsel said improperly supplied a legal conclusion in violation of rules governing opinion testimony; and (2) ineffective assistance of counsel for stipulating to and using a graphic body-cam video that defense counsel contended had high prejudicial effect and did not materially serve the chosen defense strategy.

Defense counsel Sarah Carlquist opened the argument: "May it please the court, Sarah Carlquist on behalf of Patrick Brown. We raised 3 issues that we contend entitle mister Brown to a new trial and we've raised a fourth issue in the alternative. I'd like to begin with the issue related to detectives…