State of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee v. Douglas Carter, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court upheld defendant's first-degree murder conviction, rejecting challenges to the admission and recording of his confession, the prosecutor's closing argument, witness sequestration, and ineffective assistance of counsel. It held, however, that the penalty-phase jury improperly relied on an aggravating circumstance found under an inadequate guilt-phase instruction, making it impossible to determine whether the jury properly weighed aggravating and mitigating factors. The court therefore remanded for new sentencing proceedings.