A-20-315, State v. Cooper (Appellant)
Douglas County, District Court Judge Thomas Otepka
Attorney for Appellant: Renee L. Mathias (Schaefer Shapiro, LLP)
Attorney for Appellee: Douglas J. Peterson, Kimberly A. Klein (Attorney General’s Office)
Criminal Action: Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, First Degree Assault, Use of a Firearm to Commit a Felony
Action Taken by Trial Court: After a jury found the appellant guilty of the offenses of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, first degree assault, and use of a firearm to commit a felony, the district court sentenced him to 60 to 70 years’ imprisonment for possession, 40 to 50 years’ imprisonment for first degree assault, and 45 to 50 years’ imprisonment for use of a firearm, to be served consecutively.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: The appellant contends that the district court erred in: (1) excluding testimony that the victim had previously been arrested for shooting an associate of the appellant’s; (2) failing to grant the appellant’s motion to dismiss his public defender due to a conflict in his representation; (3) failing to grant a mistrial when an officer referenced Appellant’s previous time in prison during the officer’s testimony; (4) finding the evidence sufficient to convict him; and (5) imposing an excessive sentence. Appellant also contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel due to counsel’s failure to: (1) ask the court for leave to withdraw due to a conflict; (2) present testimony from the victim who would have testified that the appellant was not the individual who shot him; (3) present testimony of the appellant’s associate (Christopher Stewart) who would have testified that the victim was not in possession of the firearm; (4) present testimony from Detectives James and Cunningham that the victim was previously arrested for shooting the appellant’s associate; (5) move to continue the trial upon learning that Detectives James and Cunningham were unable to testify; (6) call an independent forensic ballistics expert; and (7) ask any questions of the State’s forensics expert.