No. 25-6320

Dean Spencer v. Utah

Lower Court: Utah
Docketed: 2025-12-09
Status: Pending
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: blood-alcohol-concentration criminal-prosecution measurement-error per-se-threshold reasonable-doubt toxicological-evidence
Key Terms:
Privacy
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether conflicting toxicological testimony with measurement errors can support a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt finding of blood alcohol concentration above the legal threshold

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

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.

Docket Entries

2026-01-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-01-09
Waiver of right of respondent State of Utah to respond filed.
2025-11-25
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due January 8, 2026)

Attorneys

Dean Spencer
Dallas Brent YoungUtah County Public Defender Association, Petitioner
Dallas Brent YoungUtah County Public Defender Association, Petitioner
State of Utah
Alexandra HerlongUtah Attorney General's Office, Respondent
Alexandra HerlongUtah Attorney General's Office, Respondent