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Defense says jury instructions let prosecutors avoid proving who did what in Alvarez drive-by case
Summary
In State v. Alvarez, defense counsel argued that the jury instructions combined party liability and felony-discharge elements and allowed conviction on recklessness or alternatives without specific unanimity about each defendant's role; the State replied that the instructions tracked precedent and the record shows strong evidence of intent.
At oral argument in State v. Alvarez, Spencer Brown, counsel for Rosalio Alvarez, told the Utah Court of Appeals that the jury instructions permitted the prosecutor to obtain convictions without proving the specific role each defendant played in the charged drive-by shooting. "Those instructions allowed the prosecutor to argue that she did not have to prove what role any of the defendants played," Brown said, adding that the instruction conflated party liability and the predicate mens rea for felony discharge.
Brown argued trial counsel were ineffective for failing to request clearer…
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