S-25-0188 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Edward Robinson, Jr. (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County, Judge J. Russell Derr
Attorneys: Gerald L. Soucie (Attorney at Law for Appellant) and Erin E. Tangeman (Nebraska Attorney General’s Office for Appellee)
Criminal: Motion for new trial
Proceedings Below: Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder and ten years in prison for the use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Appellant filed a motion for new trial in which he alleged there was newly discovered evidence, which the district court denied. Life imprisonment cases are direct appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Issues: Appellant assigns the following error: Upon a de novo standard of review of this appeal, the Douglas County District Court erred in failing to grant an evidentiary hearing on Appellant’s motion for new trial under the applicable authority in State v. Boppre, 315 Neb. 203, 995 N.W.2d 28 (2023). The State’s essential eyewitness’ (Joe Lockett) admitted under oath that his testimony was false and was corroborated by two additional newly discovered witnesses. In addition, there was newly discovered evidence withheld by the State that Mr. Lockett had received a 60% reduction in the federal sentence by testifying that he saw Appellant shoot the victim.