Selected appellate results. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter.
Walker v. State, 2022 WY 158
Court: Supreme Court of Wyoming
Briefed and argued by: Francis H. McVay
Decided: December 19, 2022
Result: Two felony convictions reversed. The Court ruled unanimously.
Trial counsel had not objected to the jury instructions. Under Wyoming law that ordinarily forecloses the issue on appeal entirely. McVay raised it anyway, built the argument out of the written instructions themselves, and carried it before all five justices.
The jury convicted him on three counts and acquitted him on two — using the exact same instructions, on the exact same evidence.
If that sounds wrong to you, you understand the case. Five justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court agreed.
Read the full plain-English case study →
Where the case has gone since
| Case | Year | How it engages Walker |
|---|---|---|
| Person v. State, 2023 WY 26 | 2023 | Builds its entire prejudice analysis on Walker. Two justices write separately over how far Walker reaches. |
| Kobielusz v. State, 2024 WY 10 | 2024 | Cites Walker for the governing standard on unobjected-to jury instructions. |
| Lee v. State, 2024 WY 97 | 2024 | Applies the standard and reverses where an element was left out and genuinely in dispute. |
| Iverson v. State, 2025 WY 19 | 2025 | Applies the framework where an element was omitted from the instructions. |
| Townsend v. State | 2025 | Marks the rule’s outer limit — it governs multiple identical counts, not single-count instructions. |
| Duncan v. State, 2026 WY 86 | 2026 | Affirms a conviction because the trial court did what Walker said had been missing. |
Citation history verified September 2026.
Francis H. McVay is a former Deputy County and Prosecuting Attorney for Park County, Wyoming, who went on to serve as Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel with the Wyoming State Public Defender, where he argued Walker v. State before the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Mr. McVay briefed and argued Walker v. State as Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel for the Wyoming State Public Defender. The matter was not handled by Deep Waters Law, L.L.C. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Every case is decided on its own facts and its own record.