S-15-0897 State v. Jeffrey A. Huff (Appellant)
Lancaster County District Court, Judge Robert R. Otte
Attorneys: Kimberly A. Klein (Attorney General’s Office) --- Joe Nigro & Robert G. Hays (Public Defender’s Office) (Appellant)
Criminal: 1st degree sexual assault; juror discharge
Proceedings below: Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted and sentenced to 12 to 20 years imprisonment. On appeal, the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence. Appellant filed a petition for further review which was granted by the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Issues: The Nebraska Court of Appeals erred in 1) holding that the district court did not grant the State's motion to strike Juror Miguel Figueroa for cause pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §29-2006
(Reissue 2008), but instead discharged juror Miguel Figueroa pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §29-2004 (Reissue 2008), 2) holding that the State did not waive its objection to Miguel Figueroa as a juror, 3) holding that the district court did not err in failing to question Juror Miguel Figueroa before deciding to discharge him as a juror, 4) holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by deciding to discharge Juror Miguel Figueroa as a juror, without first questioning him to determine whether there was good cause to discharge him as a juror, and 5) holding that the district court did not err in overruling Appellant’s motion for a mistrial.