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Court of Appeals hears challenges in Kamara appeal over juror contact, messaging evidence and jury unanimity
Summary
In State v. Kamara, the Utah Court of Appeals considered claims that juror exposure to an overheard courtroom remark warranted a mistrial under the SOTTO balancing test, Rule 23(b) proffers of thousands of text messages, and whether omissions or instruction failures prejudiced the defense.
The Utah Court of Appeals heard argument in State v. Kamara, where defendants and the state debated several preserved and ineffective-assistance claims arising from a jury trial. The panel focused on (1) whether an in-court overheard remark heard by a single juror triggers the presumption of prejudice set out in SOTTO, (2) whether Rule 23(b) remand is warranted to consider proffered evidence (thousands of text messages and other communications), and (3) jury-unanimity and directed-verdict questions for counts tied to the victim’s testimony.
Appellant counsel raised concerns about timing-language in the victim’s testimony (the transcript records use of the word…
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