Wyoming – Criminal Law Wire

Wyoming Criminal Criminal Procedure plea-agreements

Wyoming Supreme Court

Hughes v. State — Plea Agreement “Sentencing Cap” Is a Non-Binding Recommendation, Not a Stipulated Sentence Under W.R.Cr.P. 11(e)(1)(C)

/ June 19, 2026

The Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously affirmed consecutive sentences for a former Casper police officer who pleaded guilty to five counts of aggravated assault and battery following a prolonged armed standoff, holding that a plea agreement capping the State’s “sentencing argument” was a non-binding recommendation under W.R.Cr.P. 11(e)(1)(B)—not a stipulated sentence under 11(e)(1)(C)—and that Wyoming district courts need not make specific findings when deviating from a sentencing recommendation.

Wyoming Civil Procedure Criminal

Wyoming Supreme Court

Uncategorized

Mostaert v. State — Wyoming Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Post-Conviction Motion to Return Seized Property

/ June 14, 2026

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed a district court’s denial of a convicted shoplifter’s Rule 41(g) motion for return of seized property, holding that the State overcame the post-conviction presumption favoring return by presenting credible testimony that the items were likely stolen—and clarifying Wyoming’s burden-shifting framework for such motions for the first time in the context of alleged stolen property.

Wyoming Constitutional Criminal

Wyoming Supreme Court

Uncategorized

Manders v. State — Castle Doctrine Presumptions Do Not Extend to Driveway or Yard; Self-Defense Immunity Denied Where Victim Was Never Entering the Home

/ June 9, 2026

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the denial of self-defense immunity to a man who shot and killed his neighbor during a dispute over property boundaries, holding that Wyoming’s castle doctrine presumptions under § 6-2-602(b) and (d) do not extend to outdoor areas such as driveways, and that a defendant’s subjective belief that an intruder was about to enter his home — without objective corroboration — is insufficient to trigger the statutory presumptions.