Tanner v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed Ronald Arbie Tanner's burglary conviction because the charging document and jury instructions presented alternative theories, while the evidence did not support each alternative beyond a reasonable doubt. The court held that the general verdict could not stand and remanded for entry of a judgment of acquittal. The court also discussed the need for charging documents and jury instructions to specify the particular statutory alternatives supported by the evidence.

Holdings

1. When a jury is instructed in the alternative and returns a general guilty verdict, the conviction may stand only if the record supports each alternative theory beyond a reasonable doubt, or the reviewing court can otherwise determine that the verdict rested on a supported theory. Because the record did not support the alternative theory that Tanner intended to commit a felony, his burglary conviction could not stand.
2. The State's theory of guilt is determined from official record materials such as the charging document and jury instructions, not from counsel's opening or closing argument.
3. When a conviction is reversed because the evidence is legally insufficient, double jeopardy requires entry of a judgment of acquittal rather than a new trial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether sufficient evidence supported Tanner's burglary conviction where the charging document and jury instructions submitted alternative means of committing burglary and the jury returned a general verdict.
2. Whether the general verdict could stand when the record did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt each alternative theory submitted to the jury.
3. Whether reversal for insufficient evidence required entry of a judgment of acquittal rather than a new trial.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded