Sammy Dean Martinez, Appellant (defendant) v. the State of Wyoming, Appellee (plaintiff)

Summary

The court affirmed Martinez's conviction and sentence, holding that the prosecution satisfied the requirements for taking the witness's deposition and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the deposition when the witness was medically unable to appear. The court also concluded that the deposition contained sufficient reliability safeguards because Martinez was represented by counsel and had effectively cross-examined the witness. Justice McClintock, specially concurring, agreed with affirmance but would have found the deposition improperly admitted for lack of adequate proof of unavailability and the error harmless.