Latest 2 Cases: Arriaga v. State (Civil Rights), State v. Bell (Criminal Law)

Trump’s Upcoming Refusal to Leave Office: The Very Bad News

NEIL H. BUCHANAN

In this second of a two-part series of columns considering the likelihood that President Trump will refuse to leave the White House even if he loses the election, UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan describes the bad news that Trump and his supporters seem likely to use violence to keep him in office.

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Latest Twist in the Flynn Case Highlights the Danger of Judicial Deference to Trump’s Administration

AUSTIN SARAT

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost, Associate Dean of the Faculty, and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College—comments on a decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit holding that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan exceeded his power by refusing to grant the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security advisor. Sarat explains the relationship between the judiciary and prosecutors and points out that that judicial deference toward prosecutorial decisions can only be reconciled with constitutional governance if prosecutors respect, and are guided by, canons of integrity and professionalism. Sarat argues that the current leadership of the Justice Department shows utter disdain for such canons.

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Arriaga v. State

Citation: 2020 UT 37

Opinion Date: June 23, 2020

Judge: Matthew B. Durrant

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the post-conviction court denying Petitioner's pro se petition under the Post-Conviction Remedies Act, Utah Code 78B-9-101 to -503, holding that Petitioner failed to identify a material dispute sufficient to rebut the State's showing that he was not prejudiced by his guilty plea or the State's showing that his trial counsel's performance was not deficient. Petitioner pled guilty to first-degree murder. In his post-conviction petition, Petitioner argued that his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary because he did not understand that the absence of imperfect self-defense was an element of murder and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because of a language barrier with trial counsel. The post-conviction court granted summary judgment in favor of the State, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Petitioner's claim that his plea was unknowing and involuntary failed because there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether he was prejudiced as a result; and (2) no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether trial counsel's failure to obtain an interpreter constituted deficient performance.

State v. Bell

Citation: 2020 UT 38

Opinion Date: June 23, 2020

Judge: Matthew B. Durrant

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court denying Defendant's request to view the alleged sexual abuse victim's privileged mental health therapy records, holding that Defendant failed to demonstrate that an exception to the mental health therapist-patient privilege exists under Utah R. Evid. 506. Defendant was accused of sexually abused his girlfriend's three-year-old child (Child). Before trial, Defendant filed a motion to produce Child's mental health therapy records under Utah R. Crim. P. 14(b)(1). The district court denied the motion, concluding that Defendant failed to make the particularly showings regarding relevance or that the records were reasonably certain to contain exculpatory information. The court of appeals affirmed on the grounds that Defendant failed to meet the "reasonable certainty" requirement under case law. The Supreme Court affirmed without considering the merits of Defendant's challenge to the "reasonable certainty" test, holding that Defendant failed to establish that Child had a "condition" under Rule 506(d)(1)(A). Because, however, Defendant raised significant concerns about the reasonable certainty test, the Supreme Court referred Rule 506 to the rules committee for review.