S-21-0118 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Isacc John (Appellant)
District Court for Douglas County, Hon. Thomas A. Otepka
Attorneys: Kimberly A. Klein (Attorney General’s Office) --- Kenneth Jacobs for Appellant
Criminal: 1st degree murder; use of deadly weapon, not a firearm, to commit felony
Proceedings Below: Following a bench trial, Appellant was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on Count 1 and a term of 40 to 50 years on Count 2.
Issues: 1) The district court erred when it found Appellant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was not responsible by reason of insanity at the time of the offense, 2) Appellant received ineffective assistance of trial counsel when trial counsel waived a jury trial to proceed with a defense of not responsible by reason of insanity knowing the district court previously ruled Appellant to be malingering, and 3) Appellant received ineffective assistance of trial counsel when trial counsel stipulated to the underlying facts knowing that Appellant had told multiple evaluators that he was acting in self-defense.