Arthur M. Armstrong, Appellant (defendant) v. the State of Wyoming, Appellee (plaintiff)

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed Armstrong's first degree murder conviction and life sentence. It held that the prosecutor's questions eliciting Armstrong's testimony about feeling 'malice' sought factual, not legal, opinions; that the prosecutor's closing argument, including a victim-impact remark, was error but not plain error or materially prejudicial; that the challenged testimony was admissible as non-hearsay (effect on listeners) or under the state-of-mind exception; and that denial of a change of venue was not an abuse of discretion because voir dire showed the inflammatory Rocket-Miner article did not taint the jury.