State v. Murphy, 441 P.3d 787

Background

Defendant Anthony Murphy was convicted by a jury of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping, forcible sexual abuse, and aggravated assault arising from a May 31, 2009 assault on his then‑wife; he received consecutive life‑parole‑eligible terms for the two first‑degree felonies.
The State sought and the trial court admitted testimony from three other women alleging similar prior sexual assaults by Murphy, and a statistician who presented probability evidence, under Utah R. Evid. 404(b) and the "doctrine of chances" to rebut Murphy's claim that the victim fabricated her account.
The trial court excluded one prior assault witness (GM) after an inadvertent reference during trial that GM had shot Murphy; the court struck the testimony, precluded GM’s live testimony, and gave limiting instructions.
Murphy moved for mistrial based on the shot‑reference and later renewed; the trial court denied the motions after curative measures.
Murphy argued ineffective assistance because counsel did not call live experts (and one retained expert died), and raised other preserved and unpreserved claims on appeal.
The appellate court affirmed: it found no abuse of discretion admitting the 404(b) evidence under rule 403, no abuse in denying mistrial, and no Strickland prejudice shown.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Murphy)	Held
Admissibility of other‑acts evidence under Utah R. Evid. 404(b) / doctrine of chances	Evidence of multiple similar accusations is probative to rebut fabrication, show intent/absence of mistake; probative value not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice	Admission violated rule 403; other‑acts unfairly prejudiced jury and confused purpose of evidence	Affirmed — trial court did proper 404(b)/403 analysis; doctrine of chances properly applied and balancing was not an abuse of discretion
Mistrial motion after victim mentioned GM had shot defendant	Curative measures (striking, excluding GM testimony, limiting instruction) cured any prejudice; statement was innocuous in context	Reference was prejudicial; jury remained influenced; mistrial required	Affirmed — trial court reasonably denied mistrial; statement was passing, relatively innocuous, and cure adequate
Ineffective assistance for failure to call live expert witnesses	State: counsel had strategic reasons; report admitted and used; no reasonable probability of different outcome	Counsel deficient for not presenting live experts or a replacement for a deceased expert; prejudice likely changed verdict	Affirmed — court assumed possible deficiency but Murphy failed to show Strickland prejudice (no reasonable probability of different outcome)
Other unpreserved claims (e.g., merger; sufficiency; prosecutorial misconduct)	—	Raised on appeal but not preserved below	Not reached — appellate court declined to consider unpreserved issues absent asserted preservation exceptions

Key Cases Cited

State v. Thornton, 391 P.3d 1016 (Utah 2017) (standard: abuse of discretion for admitting 404(b) evidence)
State v. Verde, 296 P.3d 673 (Utah 2012) (doctrine of chances explained; prior acts can rebut fabrication/accident)
State v. Lowther, 398 P.3d 1032 (Utah 2017) (doctrine of chances four‑part analysis and rule 403 guidance)
State v. Killpack, 191 P.3d 17 (Utah 2008) (three‑step test for 404(b) admissibility)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two‑part ineffective assistance test: deficiency and prejudice)
State v. Butterfield, 27 P.3d 1133 (Utah 2001) (appellate review standard for mistrial rulings)
State v. Rammel, 721 P.2d 498 (Utah 1986) (probability/statistical evidence generally inadmissible to prove witness credibility)