Sanchez v. State, 2011 WY 77

Sanchez was convicted at trial of attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, felony possession of a controlled substance, and interference with an emergency call; he moved for a new trial which the district court denied, and this Court consolidated his direct-appeal and new-trial-review.
Evidence showed extensive violence against AI in February 2008, including choking, beating, a mug used as a weapon, a knife to the throat, a cord tied around AI’s neck, and a 911 interruption by Sanchez.
A search of Sanchez’s residence yielded 7.14 grams of cocaine behind a speaker, testing positive for cocaine; the substance was found during a police search warrant after the incident.
At trial, Sanchez testified in his defense claiming self-defense and disputing full extent of injuries and possession of cocaine; the jury acquitted him of attempted first-degree murder but convicted him of the lesser-included offense and other charges.
During voir dire, several jurors had links to the Wyoming State Penitentiary; Sanchez challenged juror P. for potential bias, and the district court later denied a new-trial motion after an evidentiary hearing.
Sanchez appealed on issues including sufficiency of possession evidence, hearsay, references to the victim, jury impartiality, and ineffective assistance of counsel; the Supreme Court of Wyoming affirmed all challenged rulings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Judgment of acquittal on possession	Sanchez contends insufficient evidence supported possession.	State failed to prove actual or constructive possession.	Waived; review not available; possession issue not reviewed.
Admission of excited utterance hearsay	Gulbrandson’s testimony of victim statements was admissible.	Statements were improperly admitted as hearsay.	Properly admitted under W.R.E. 803(2); no abuse of discretion.
District court referring to AI as 'the victim'	Judge’s labeling prejudiced right to fair trial and self-defense claim.	Was a neutral description to identify participants; no prejudice.	No plain error; isolated statement, jurors instructed to judge facts impartially.
Juror knowledge of Sanchez from penitentiary affecting voir dire	Two jurors failed to disclose penitentiary knowledge; biased trial.	District court properly evaluated McDonough test and bias; no reversible error.	District court did not abuse discretion; McDonough test not satisfied; new trial denied.
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to adequately voir dire, object to certain testimony, and investigate various defenses.	No deficient performance demonstrated; no prejudice shown; remand denied.	No deficient performance or prejudice; appellate claim rejected.

Granzer v. State, 2010 WY 130 (Wyo. 2010) (waiver of post-denial judgment of acquittal after defense evidence)
Butcher v. State, 2005 WY 146 (Wyo. 2005) (procedural waiver and review limits)
Robinson v. State, 11 P.3d 361 (Wyo. 2000) (post-verdict issues and appellate review)
Hodges v. State, 904 P.2d 334 (Wyo. 1995) (trial conduct and evidentiary challenges)
Boykin v. State, 2005 WY 15 (Wyo. 2005) (excited utterance standard and reliability)
Oldman v. State, 998 P.2d 957 (Wyo. 2000) (excited utterance analysis)
Streitmatter v. State, 981 P.2d 921 (Wyo. 1999) (timing of statements under stress)
Gonzales v. Thomas, 99 F.3d 978 (10th Cir. 1996) (McDonough v. Greenwood framework for juror honesty)
McDonough Power Equipment v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (U.S. 1984) (juror honesty standard for new-trial claims)
Skaggs v. Otis Elevator Co., 164 F.3d 511 (10th Cir. 1998) (bias and voir dire factual review)
McConnell v. United States, 464 F.3d 1152 (10th Cir. 2006) (innocent misstatement in voir dire not necessarily dishonest)
Smith v. State, 2008 WY 98 (Wyo. 2008) (new trial rules for newly discovered evidence)
Grable v. State, 664 P.2d 531 (Wyo. 1983) (new trial standards and abuse of discretion)