S-21-0224 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Raymond T. Davis (Appellant)
District Court for Sarpy County, Hon. Stephanie A. Martinez
Attorneys: Matthew Lewis (Attorney General’s Office) --- Kelly S. Breen (Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy) (Appellant)
Criminal: 1st degree murder; conspiracy to commit robbery; use of weapon to commit felony; impeachment of witness
Proceedings Below: Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted on all counts and sentenced to life imprisonment, a concurrent term of 18 to 20 years, and a consecutive term of 18 to 20 years.
Issues: 1) The prosecution may not impeach their own witness with a prior hearsay statement inconsistent with the witness’s sworn testimony unless the matter testified to is important to the State’s case and is not the State’s means of retaliating on a witness they are not pleased with at trial, 2) the information herein failed to allege facts stating an overt act done by defendant in the furtherance of a conspiracy to commit robbery, which defect in the information is fatal to that count of the information, and 3) the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support convictions herein; and, the State’s reliance on the testimony of an admitted liar and perjurer deprived Appellant of a fair trial and due process.