The Utah Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a man who called his 1982 conviction for rape, forcible sexual abuse and forcible sodomy "a stinking heap of legal garbage."
Timothy Lairby, acting as his own attorney, cited more than a dozen other reasons why his 3rd District Court conviction should be overturned, including failure of the judicial process.Justices said all of the issues raised by Lairby except one already had been "fully and fairly" addressed in a 1984 review of his case by the Supreme Court.
The only issue raised in Lairby's appeal that was not addressed in the 1984 Supreme Court opinion was the allegation his conviction was "a travesty, an outrage, (and) a stinking heap of legal garbage."
That, Justice Christine Durham wrote in an unanimous opinion, amounts "at best" to a claim of cumulative error. However, she stated that Lairby did not show the cumulative effect of individual errors that prejudiced his right to a fair trial.