Summary 2013 WY 159

Summary of Decision December 24, 2013

Justice Voigt delivered the opinion for the Court. Affirmed.

Case Name: HENRY R. SANCHEZ v. THE STATE OF WYOMING

Docket Number: S-13-0140

URL: http://www.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions.aspx

Appeal from the District Court of Carbon County the Honorable Wade E. Waldrip, Judge

Representing Appellant: Henry R. Sanchez, pro se.

Representing Appellee: Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney General; David L. Delicath; Jeffrey S. Pope, Assistant Attorney General.

Date of Decision: December 24, 2013

Facts: A jury convicted the appellant of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, possession of cocaine, and misdemeanor interference. He was sentenced to thirty to forty years for the attempted murder conviction, with lesser sentences to run concurrently. The appellant filed a motion for sentence reduction, which the district court denied. Not convinced the district court had all accurate facts available in making its decision, the appellant filed a motion for reconsideration and it too was denied. The appellant argues on appeal that the district court abused its discretion and violated his due process rights by denying his motions for sentence reduction and ensuing reconsideration. He contends the State committed prosecutorial misconduct by presenting false facts in its traverse to the motion for sentence reduction; as a result, the district court’s denial was improper.

Issues: 1. Did the district court abuse its discretion in denying the appellant’s motion for reduction of sentence? 2. Were the appellant’s constitutional due process rights violated by the district court’s denial of his motion to reconsider a sentence reduction? 3. Did the State commit prosecutorial misconduct by misstating facts in its traverse to the appellant’s motion for reduction of sentence?

Holdings/Conclusion: Finding no abuse of discretion by the district court, no violation of the appellant’s constitutional rights, and no prosecutorial misconduct, we affirm.

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court

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