State v. Taylor, 842 N.W.2d 771

Taylor was convicted of first degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for the Curtis Avenue shooting that killed Justin Gaines; he was 17 at the time.
He received life imprisonment plus a consecutive 10-year to 10-year term for the deadly weapon conviction; on appeal, Miller v. Alabama was decided after sentencing
The Nebraska trial court’s sentencing for a juvenile offender raised Miller-based Eighth Amendment challenges to a life-without-parole-structured result
This Court affirmed the convictions but vacated the life sentence and remanded for resentencing under § 28-105.02 with mitigating considerations
Castaneda and related legislative changes prompted remand guidance, applying new statutes to post-act, pre-judgment resentencing
The case includes identification and evidentiary issues (showup and hearsay) that affected trial, but only as background to the sentencing remedy

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Copeland’s location-of-gun testimony was inadmissible hearsay	Taylor	Taylor	Harmless error; testimony cumulative; did not affect guilt
Whether Strominger’s in-court identification of Taylor violated due process	Taylor	Taylor	Not unduly suggestive; identification admissible
Whether Taylor’s life sentence was unconstitutional under Miller and how to remand	Taylor	Taylor	Life sentence vacated; remanded for resentencing under § 28-105.02

Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (U.S. 2012) (mandatory life without parole for juveniles violates Eighth Amendment)
Perry v. New Hampshire, 132 S. Ct. 716 (U.S. 2012) (two-part test for unreliable identifications; due process concerns)
Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188 (U.S. 1972) (reliability factors for identification evidence)
State v. Wickline, 232 Neb. 329, 440 N.W.2d 249 (Neb. 1989) (one-on-one identifications not unduly suggestive under totality of circumstances)
State v. Faust, 269 Neb. 749, 696 N.W.2d 420 (Neb. 2005) (reliability factors for witness identifications)