S-19-0360, State v. Eddy D. Stabler [appellant]
District court for Lancaster County, Honorable Andrew Jacobsen
Attorneys: Public Defender’s office for appellant (Joe Nigro, Shawn Elliott, and senior certified student Ella Newell); Attorney General for appellee (Douglas J. Peterson and Nathan A. Liss)
Criminal: Conviction for second degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony
Proceedings below: Stabler was convicted after a jury trial and sentenced to 10 to 15 years for second degree assault and 5 to 10 years for use of a deadly weapon, to be served consecutively
Issues: Whether the district court erred in 1) failing to give a limiting instruction based on comments made by the State during closing arguments, 2) prohibiting Stabler from testifying on direct examination that his prior felony convictions were for forgery, 3) failing to instruct on the lesser included offense of assault in the third degree, 4) finding the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions, or 5) imposing an excessive sentence.