S-23-0147 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Hope T. Npimnee (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County, Judge Ryan S. Post
Attorneys: Joy Shiffermiller (Shiffermiller Law Office, P.C. L.L.O. for Appellant) and Teryn R. Blessin (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee).
Criminal: Jury Instructions and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Proceedings below: A jury found Appellant guilty of first-degree sexual assault, and the district court sentenced Appellant to thirty-five (35) to forty (40) years in prison. On its own motion, the Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The district court erred in instructing the jury on two alternative and contradictory theories of the case; 2) The district court erred in instructing the jury on the theory that the victim was so intoxicated as incapable of consenting, as there was no evidence that the victim was severely intoxicated; 3) The district court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the defense of consent; 4) The district court erred in restricting defense counsel’s cross examination of the victim; 5) The district court erred in failing to grant the motion to dismiss at the end of the State’s case in chief as there was insufficient evidence that the crime was committed and the victim’s testimony was so contradictory as to require the jury to speculate on what occurred; and 6) The district court erred in convicting the Appellant despite him having ineffective assistance of counsel.