State v. Dragon, 287 Neb. 519

Dragon pled guilty to second degree murder as part of a plea agreement that dropped a deadly weapon count.
The factual basis included police observations of blood and Moore’s body; Dragon and Moore had a past relationship.
Dragon was sentenced to 50 years to life; direct appeal challenged the sentence as excessive.
In 2012, Dragon filed pro se postconviction relief seeking review of sentence and ineffective assistance claims.
District court denied an evidentiary hearing, finding no merit to the claims and procedural bar on excessive sentence.
On appeal, Dragon asserts two ineffective-assistance claims and challenges lack of mitigating evidence and supposed promises about sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Promised life sentence by counsel	Dragon contends counsel promised a lesser sentence if pleading guilty.	Dragon's counsel denied promising any leniency; plea colloquy contradicted.	No error; record refutes promise; no hearing required.
Failure to present mitigating evidence	Counsel failed to present mitigating evidence at sentencing.	Counsel presented mitigating evidence and argued for leniency; record shows efforts.	No error; district court properly denied an evidentiary hearing.

State v. Molina, 279 Neb. 405 (2010) (postconviction standard; relief requires denial of constitutional rights)
State v. York, 278 Neb. 306 (2009) (procedural framework for postconviction proceedings)
State v. Gunther, 278 Neb. 173 (2009) (requirement to allege denial or violation of rights to void judgment)
State v. Jim, 275 Neb. 481 (2008) (postconviction standards and relief)
State v. Vo, 279 Neb. 964 (2010) (plea colloquy and absence of promises regarding sentence)
State v. Edwards, 284 Neb. 382 (2012) (ineffective assistance first opportunity when trial counsel also appellate counsel)
State v. Watkins, 284 Neb. 742 (2012) (need for evidentiary hearing when factual allegations arise)
State v. Robinson, 285 Neb. 394 (2013) (Strickland prejudice and deficiency emphasis)