S-16-0273 State v. Juan Castaneda (Appellant)
Douglas County, Judge Peter C. Bataillon
Attorneys: Annie O. Hayden (Public Defender's Office for Appellant) --- Stacy Foust (Attorney General's Office)
Criminal: First degree murder (2 counts); use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony (3 counts); attempted murder in the 2nd degree; attempted robbery; conspiracy
Proceedings below: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's convictions but vacated all sentences and remanded for resentencing pursuant to Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012) as Appellant was under 18 years of age at the time of his offenses. His other sentences were vacated as they were erroneously ordered to be served concurrently instead of consecutively as required by law. See State v. Castaneda, 287 Neb. 289 (2014). Upon remand, the district court resentenced Appellant as follows: Count I: 40-50 years; Count II: 5-5 years; Count III 40-50 years; Count IV: 5-5 years; Count V: 10-10 years; Count VI: 5-5 years; Count VII: 5-5 years; Count VIII: 5-5 years. Counts VI and VIII were ordered to be served concurrently with each other and Count V. Counts I, II, III, IV, V, and VII were ordered to be served consecutively to each other.
Issues: I. The District Court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence on the
Appellant. II. The District Court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence on the
Appellant by imposing a de facto life sentence in violation of his due process and Eighth Amendment rights. III. The District Court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence on the Appellant by imposing a more severe sentence than he originally received.