S-14-0332 State v. Jason Custer (Appellant)
Cheyenne County, Judge Derek C. Weimer
Attorneys: James R. Mowbray, Sarah P. Newell (Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy) (Appellant) --- Melissa R. Vincent (Attorney General's Office)
Criminal: First degree murder; Use of a firearm to commit a felony; possession of a firearm by a prohibited person
Proceedings below: A jury found Appellant guilty of the above crimes. He was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder with 20 to 50 years for use of a firearm to commit a felony and 10 to 20 years for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. All counts were ordered to be served consecutively.
Issues: I. The Cheyenne County District Court erred when instructing the jury. II. The evidence adduced atrial was insufficient to sustain a conviction for First Degree Murder because a rational trier of fact could not have concluded that Custer killed Adam McCormick purposely and with deliberate and premeditated malice, and not in self-defense. III. The State committed prosecutorial misconduct and violated Custer's Due Process Rights by arguing his post-arrest silence in closing arguments. IV. The Cheyenne County District Court erred by sentencing Custer to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. V. The Cheyenne County District Court erred by imposing excessive sentences for the remaining counts.