State v. Clopten

DURHAM, Chief Justice:

INTRODUCTION

T1 Defendant, Deon Lomax Clopten, appeals his conviction for murder on grounds that the trial court abused its discretion when it excluded expert testimony regarding the reliability of eyewitness identification. Following existing Utah precedent, the court of appeals affirmed Clopten's conviction while inviting this court to revisit our position on the admissibility of such expert testimony. We reverse the decision of the court of appeals, vacate the conviction, and remand for a new trial.

BACKGROUND

1 2 In February 2006, Clopten was convict, ed of first-degree…