Wimbley v. State
Annotate this CaseWill Wimbley was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm. His convictions were affirmed on appeal. Wimbley filed two motions for postconviction relief. At issue in the motions were (1) the prosecutor's closing statement that "premeditation can occur in an instant," and (2) questions surrounding DNA evidence on the murder weapon. Wimbley's first motion was denied by the district court. The court of appeals affirmed. In his second motion for postconviction relief, Wimbley argued that a recent Supreme Court decision, State v. Holmes, represented an intervening change in the law. The district court summarily denied the motion, finding the motion was successive and untimely. The court of appeals held that Holmes represented a clear change in the law, and therefore, reversed Wimbley's underlying convictions and remanded for a new trial. On review, the Supreme Court found the district court's rulings to be appropriate and reversed the court of appeals, holding (1) Holmes did not change the legal definition of premeditation but rather looked at the prejudicial impact of a prosecutor's misstatement that premeditation can occur in an instant, and (2) the district court was justified in declining Wimbley's request for retesting of the murder weapon.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.