S-24-0816 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Ryan M. Elseman (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County, Judge Derek R. Vaughn
Attorneys: Michael J. Wilson (Berry Law Firm for Appellant) and Austin N. Relph (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee)
Criminal: Postconviction relief
Proceedings below: Appellant was convicted of felony murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and the district court sentenced him to consecutive terms of life imprisonment and twenty-five (25) to thirty (30) years in prison. His convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal in State v. Elseman, 287 Neb. 134, 841 N.W.2d 225 (2014). Appellant filed a motion for postconviction relief, which the district court denied without an evidentiary hearing. Life imprisonment cases are direct appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Issues: Appellant assigns the following errors: 1) Trial counsel provided prejudicial ineffective assistance when he failed properly preserve and appeal the overruling of his motion to strike for cause prospective juror Roland, who became the foreperson of Appellant’s jury after confirming during voir dire: 1) that he read prejudicial pretrial publicity about the case, 2) that his presence on the jury “could be a problem” for Appellant, and 3) that Appellant “could be at a distinct disadvantage” if he served as a juror; 2) The seating of a biased foreperson, juror Roland, on Appellant’s jury was plain error, and this Court may further recognize the seating of this biased juror as a category of structural error requiring automatic reversal; 3) Trial counsel provided prejudicial ineffective assistance when he failed to use a peremptory challenge to dismiss prospective juror Roland, who demonstrated actual bias and became the jury foreperson; 4) The State violated Appellant’s constitutional rights to due process under Brady and Bagley when it failed to disclose or acknowledge one or more implied plea agreements with critical witness Drake N.; 5) The State violated Appellant’s constitutional rights to due process under Brady and Bagley when it failed to disclose or acknowledge one or more implied plea agreements with critical witness Emily G.