State of Nebraska, Appellee v. Kimberly Sue Faust, Appellant

Summary

The court held that the prosecution improperly introduced extrinsic evidence of specific prior acts to rebut Faust's character witnesses and that trial counsel's failure to object to much of that evidence constituted ineffective assistance that fundamentally deprived Faust of a fair trial. The court also determined that the evidentiary error was not harmless and that the evidence was sufficient to permit retrial, so it reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial. The court provided guidance for retrial concerning self-defense instructions, victim photographs, voluntariness of Faust's statement, and evidence concerning her father's character. Stephan, J., joined by Hendry, C.J., dissented, arguing that ineffective assistance should not be decided on direct appeal and that the preserved evidentiary error was harmless.