S-23-0506 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Marcus Brown (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County, Judge Katie L. Benson
Attorneys: Erin E. Tangeman and Emily Doll, senior certified law student (Attorney General’s Office for Appellee) and Kenneth Jacobs (Hug and Jacobs, LLC for Appellant)
Criminal: Theft by Unlawful Taking and Restitution
Proceedings below: Appellant was convicted of theft by unlawful taking ($5,000 or more), sentenced to ninety (90) days of jail, placed on probation for three (3) years, and ordered to pay $11,164.52 in restitution within his first year of probation. On its own motion, the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Nebraska Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The finder of fact erred in finding the evidence sufficient to support a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; 2) The district court abused its discretion in ordering monetary restitution without a showing of direct loss to Menards; 3) Appellant was prejudiced by deficient performances of trial counsel, specifically the failure of counsel to properly investigate and question the lead witness about his bias including a civil lawsuit filed by Menards against Appellant; 4) Appellant was prejudiced by deficient performances of trial counsel, specifically the failure of counsel to properly object to the trial court’s order of monetary restitution; 5) Trial counsel was deficient in not properly investigating the matter and contacting witnesses provided by Appellant to trial counsel; and 6) Trial counsel was deficient when he did not request a mistrial after it was learned the jury was able to view evidence not related to this case and manipulated evidence while in deliberations.