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Utah Court of Appeals Hears Challenge to Reliability of ‘Torrential Downpour’ in Gaines Case
Summary
At oral argument the panel questioned whether a law‑enforcement‑only program called Torrential Downpour met Rule 702 reliability standards and whether any error admitting its results was harmless given the defendant’s admissions and encrypted devices.
SALT LAKE CITY — A three‑judge panel of the Utah Court of Appeals on Monday heard competing arguments over whether evidence derived from a law‑enforcement software tool called Torrential Downpour should have been admitted at trial in State v. Gaines and whether any error was harmless.
At the start of oral argument, Judge Ryan Tenney explained procedure and time limits, then invited counsel to proceed. Rachel Foles, representing appellant Jeremy “Jim” Gaines, told the court that Gaines’s brief raises three principal issues and two additional Rule 23(b) claims and argued that “the district court abused discretion in denying Jim’s motions regarding Torrential Downpour and seeking additional discovery,” framing the centerpiece issue as the tool’s reliability under Rule 702.
The state, represented by Marion Decker, urged the panel to affirm, saying the record supports an alternative Rule 702 showing of general acceptance and stressing investigators’ surrounding…
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