S-24-0481 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Maylesha S. Lewis (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County, Judge Peter C. Bataillon
Attorneys: Thomas C. Riley and Jessica C. West (Douglas County Public Defender’s Office for Appellant) and Nathan A. Liss (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee)
Criminal: Motor vehicle homicide driving under the influence
Proceedings below: After Appellant was convicted and sentenced for driving under the influence resulting in serious bodily injury, the Nebraska Supreme Court found that Appellant’s successive prosecution for motor vehicle homicide driving under the influence did not violate her right against double jeopardy. See State v. Lewis, 313 Neb. 879, 986 N.W.2d 739 (2023). On remand, the district court convicted Appellant of motor vehicle homicide driving under the influence and sentenced her to forty-eight months of probation.
Issues: Appellant assigns the following errors: 1) The trial court erred in allowing the unfounded opinion of Dr. Bowen as to the cause of death and further erred in denying Appellant’s motion to dismiss and for directed verdict for insufficiency of evidence because: a) The trial court erred in overruling Lewis’ foundational objections and admitting the opinion of Dr. Bowen as to the cause of death of Mr. Martin; b) The trial court erred in denying Appellant’s motion to dismiss and for directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt as to the causation of death; and 2) The trial court erred in denying Appellant’s motion to vacate her conviction and sentence in violation of the Fifth Amendment protection against multiple punishments for the same offense.