State v. Branch, 290 Neb. 523

James Branch was convicted of robbery and kidnapping; convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal.
Branch filed a postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to call Laquesha Martin to corroborate an alibi.
This Court previously remanded for an evidentiary hearing on whether counsel was ineffective for not calling Martin.
At the evidentiary hearing, depositions showed Martin told counsel she could not confirm Branch’s account and would be a poor witness; Martin later testified she was with Branch that morning until he dropped her at work.
Trial counsel testified she subpoenaed Martin but declined to call her after Martin’s evasive statements and counsel’s assessment that Martin’s testimony likely would harm Branch.
The district court denied postconviction relief; this appeal challenges that denial based on the Strickland ineffective-assistance standard.

Issue	Branch's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel was deficient for not calling Martin	Counsel should have called Martin to corroborate Branch’s alibi	Counsel reasonably declined because Martin was evasive and could not corroborate	No deficiency — counsel’s decision was reasonable trial strategy
Whether Branch was prejudiced by counsel’s decision	Martin’s testimony would have created a reasonable probability of a different result	Martin’s likely testimony was inconsistent and would have harmed Branch’s credibility	No prejudice — no reasonable probability of different outcome
Whether the district court erred in denying postconviction relief without granting relief after remand	The evidentiary record supports relief on ineffective-assistance claim	Record supports district court’s factual findings and credibility determinations	No error — denial affirmed
Whether appellate review should overturn credibility-based factual findings	Branch urges de novo consideration of alleged errors	Court notes factual findings are reviewed for clear error; legal Strickland questions reviewed de novo	Court affirms factual findings and independently reviews legal application; Strickland not satisfied

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Branch, 277 Neb. 738 (2009) (direct-appeal opinion affirming convictions)
State v. Branch, 286 Neb. 83 (2013) (remand for evidentiary hearing on postconviction claim)
State v. Glover, 278 Neb. 795 (2009) (standards for reviewing ineffective-assistance claims)
State v. Benzel, 269 Neb. 1 (2004) (trial judge resolves credibility and factual disputes)
State v. Robinson, 287 Neb. 606 (2014) (deference to reasonable strategic trial decisions)