State v. Hunts Horse, A-24-629

Logan C. Hunts Horse was charged with six counts related to the killing of Todd Scherer, including first degree murder, use of a deadly weapon, robbery, and conspiracy.
Under a plea agreement, Hunts Horse pled guilty to second degree murder and no contest to use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony; the other charges were dismissed.
The events occurred at the R barn at Fonner Park in Hall County, Nebraska, where Hunts Horse shot Scherer and later, with an accomplice, struck him in the head and stole his wallet.
At sentencing, Hunts Horse was 21, had significant cognitive and mental health issues, and reported a history of substance abuse and trauma.
The district court sentenced him to 64-94 years for murder and 24-40 years for the weapon offense, to be served consecutively.
On appeal, Hunts Horse challenged the sentence as excessive and argued trial counsel was ineffective for recommending the plea despite conflicting expert opinions on the victim's cause of death.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Excessive Sentence	Sentence was too harsh given youth, mental health, and mitigating circumstances	Sentences appropriate given violence and deliberate conduct	District court did not abuse discretion
Ineffective Assistance	Counsel ineffective for advising plea with disputed cause-of-death evidence	State's evidence strong; plea avoided harsher penalties	No prejudice; claim fails

State v. Lierman, 305 Neb. 289 (sentencing reviewed for abuse of discretion and standard for ineffective assistance claims)
State v. Blaha, 303 Neb. 415 (voluntary plea waives defenses except ineffective assistance or involuntary plea)
State v. Blake, 310 Neb. 769 (clarifies abuse of discretion review for sentences within statutory limits)
State v. Rogers, 297 Neb. 265 (sentencing court has wide discretion and considers totality of circumstances)
State v. Theisen, 306 Neb. 591 (sets standard for reviewing trial counsel performance claims)
State v. Manjikian, 303 Neb. 100 (prejudice analysis for ineffective assistance and plea decisions)