Shey Elan Bruce, 2015 WY 46

Appellant Shey Bruce was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and domestic violence battery arising from an assault on Lavena Laster and the death of Charles Laster.
The incidents occurred on May 14-15, 2013 in Shoshoni, Wyoming, after Bruce visited the Lasters and allegedly struck Mrs. Laster with a beer bottle and then assaulted Mr. Laster with the same bottle.
Mr. Laster died the next day from a right subdural hemorrhage due to blunt force trauma, with evidence presented at trial showing the assault occurred in a back bedroom of Mr. Laster’s home.
A 911 call made by Mr. Laster describing the assault and seeking medical help was admitted at trial over defense objections.
Bruce challenged the admissibility of the 911 call, the denial of motions for judgment of acquittal, the new-trial motion based on inadmissible hearsay, and his requested self-defense instruction; the district court denied these requests and the jury returned verdicts of not guilty on second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter and DV battery.
On appeal, the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed, addressing Sixth Amendment confrontation issues, hearsay rules, sufficiency of the evidence, and jury instruction questions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admission of 911 call under confrontation clause	Bruce: 911 call is testimonial and should be excluded.	Bruce: 911 call is non-testimonial and admissible as hearsay with exceptions.	Call deemed non-testimonial; admissible.
Denial of judgment of acquittal on second-degree murder	Bruce argues denial denied due process on greater offense.	Bruce contends insufficient evidence for second-degree murder.	Court does not decide on this issue; review limited due to waiver after defense evidence.
Sufficiency of evidence for manslaughter	Bruce claims no evidence of heat-of-passion element or intent.	State presented evidence of heat-of-passion and unlawful killing.	Sufficient evidence supports manslaughter conviction.
New trial for inadmissible hearsay	Hearsay harmed the verdict; a new trial is warranted.	Curative instruction mitigated error; no plain error.	No abuse of discretion; no plain error; denial affirmed.
Self-defense instruction	Bruce entitled to self-defense instruction based on aggressor dynamic.	No prima facie case that Bruce withdrew or that Laster became aggressor.	Self-defense instruction properly denied.

Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (U.S. 2004) (testimonial statements and confrontation clause framework)
Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (U.S. 2006) (distinguishes testimonial vs. non-testimonial under confrontation analysis)
Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. 344 (U.S. 2011) (objective primary purpose in assessing statements during emergencies)
Szymanski v. State, 166 P.3d 879 (Wy. 2007) (defines framework for confrontation and hearsay analysis in Wyoming)
Leach v. State, 2013 WY 139 (Wy. 2013) (last-resort use of catchall hearsay exceptions)
Marquess v. State, 256 P.3d 506 (Wy. 2011) (excited utterance factors and application in Wyoming)
Boykin v. State, 105 P.3d 481 (Wy. 2005) (excited utterance analysis and reliability considerations)
Mendoza v. State, 300 P.3d 487 (Wy. 2013) (plain error standard for new-trial rulings and curative instructions)
Drennen v. State, 311 P.3d 116 (Wy. 2013) (self-defense instructions and evidentiary standards in Wyoming)
Thom v. State, 792 P.2d 192 (Wy. 1990) (defendant's right to instructions on theory of defense)