Court of Appeals hears Bell appeal over theft‑of‑rental‑vehicle statute, jury instructions and body‑cam evidence

The Utah Court of Appeals heard oral argument in State v. Bell, a criminal appeal raising three principal questions: whether a statutory provision tied to rental‑agreement language is an element (or necessary predicate) of the theft‑of‑rental‑vehicle offense; whether trial counsel’s choices regarding jury instructions and pretrial motions constituted ineffective assistance; and whether repeated comments by a police officer on body‑worn camera that the defendant was lying prejudiced the jury.

Wendy Brown, counsel for the appellant Randy Bell, argued that the prosecution never proved — and in fact could not have proved from the trial record — a required contractual notice in the rental agreement that the statute places on rental companies. Brown asked the panel to treat that requirement as an element or necessary predicate of the elevated theft offense. “If subsection 3 is not required to commit the offense, what is it?” Brown asked the panel in argument.

The s…