S-24-0809 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Jeffrey Adams (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Hamilton County, Judge Christina M. Marroquin
Attorneys: Matthew J. McDonald (Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy for Appellant) and Melissa R. Vincent (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee)
Criminal: Life imprisonment for first-degree murder
Proceedings below: A jury convicted Appellant of first-degree murder, and the district court sentenced him to life in prison. Life imprisonment cases are direct appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Issues: Appellant assigns the following errors: 1) The district court abused its discretion by allowing evidence under Nebr. Rev. Stat. §§ 27-403 and 27-404 regarding allegations that Appellant choked a prior wife over 25 years earlier; 2) The district court abused its discretion by allowing evidence under Nebr. Rev. Stat. §§ 27-403 and 27-404 regarding allegations that Appellant choked the deceased at a July 4 party back in 2014 or 2015; 3) The district court committed error when it refused to provide the jury a defense requested jury instruction for self-defense; 4) The district court abused its discretion and violated the right to a fair trial under the 6th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, for refusing to change venue for the trial to a different jurisdiction after an unknown person posed as the Hamilton County Clerk Magistrate seeking information about Appellant and the deceased from a potential defense witness; and 5) There was insufficient evidence to find Appellant guilty of Count I, first-degree murder.