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Dean Spencer v. Utah

IFP petition · Court of Appeals of Utah, No. 20230863-CA · judgment May 8, 2025


Certiorari denied · February 23, 2026

Question presented

  1. In an alcohol DUI prosecution where the only question was if Mr. Spencer’s BAC was above Utah’s then-applicable per se threshold of 0.08, two toxicologists testified to Mr. Spencer’s BAC according to their respective toxicological analysis. One testified that his BAC was 0.79, and the other testified that it was 0.08. Both testified that both results were within known measurement errors and were correct measurements. The question is whether this evidence was sufficient to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Spencer’s BAC was 0.80 or above.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Dallas Brent Young
Utah County Public Defender Association

For respondent
Alexandra Herlong
Utah Attorney General's Office

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 23 2026
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 22 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
  3. Jan 09 2026
    Waiver of right of respondent State of Utah to respond filed.
  4. Nov 25 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due January 8, 2026)