A-24-753, State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Robert L. Hearnes, Sr. (Appellant)
Douglas County District Court, Judge Kimberly M. Pankonin
Attorney for Appellant: Jerry M. Hug (Hug & Jacobs, LLC)
Attorney for Appellee: Melissa R. Vincent (Nebraska Attorney General)
Criminal: Pleadings, Evidence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Action Taken by Trial Court: A jury found Appellant guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a child in the first degree and one count of sexual assault on a child in the third degree. The convictions involved two minor female children. The district court ruled on several motions during the pendency of the case. It first granted the consolidation of the cases involving the two children because they were similar in nature, and the charges were simple and distinct for the jury to separate the evidence for each charge. It also granted the Appellee leave to amend the information to conform to the evidence adduced at trial. Regarding evidence, the district court admitted testimony of a similar sexual assault from thirty years prior and a recorded forensic interview at a child advocacy center based on the medical treatment hearsay exception.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: On appeal, Appellant has assigned four errors and has assigned his counsel was ineffective for several reasons. Appellant assigns, restated and restructured, that the district court erred in (1) consolidating his charges, (2) admitting evidence of a prior sexual assault, (3) granting an amendment to the information during trial, and (4) admitting evidence of a forensic interview; additionally he argues that (5) his counsel was ineffective for failing to (a) investigate another person that went by his same alias, (b) move for mistrial due to potential jury tampering, (c) request a continuance to investigate additional witnesses, and (d) impeach a witness with inconsistent statements.