State v. Trotter, 299 Neb. 392

Defendant Charles S. Trotter (16 at time of offenses) was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for a January 3, 2015 shooting that killed Marcel Lovejoy and Dexter Joseph.
Three eyewitnesses identified Trotter as the shooter at trial; defense theory was mistaken identity implicating another individual, DeAndre Hines.
Defense sought to admit two out-of-focus photographs recovered from Hines’ phone showing Hines holding a silver-and-black handgun and wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt similar to witnesses’ descriptions.
The district court excluded the photos under Neb. Evid. R. 403 as having minimal relevance and a risk of unfair prejudice or juror confusion (noting inconsistency with witness testimony that the shooter’s gun was black).
At sentencing the court imposed consecutive minimum statutory terms (40–60 years on each murder count; 5–10 years on each weapon use count), resulting in an aggregate 90–140 year term; defense argued this was a functional life sentence barred by Miller v. Alabama.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of photographs (exhibits 292, 293)	Photographs show Hines wearing clothing and holding a gun similar to shooter; relevant to misidentification defense	Photos are minimally relevant, out of focus, depict a silver/black gun whereas witnesses described a black gun; risk of confusion and unfair prejudice under Rule 403; one photo shows gang signs barred by motion in limine	Exclusion affirmed: probative value minimal and substantially outweighed by risk of confusion/prejudice; any error harmless as similar photo (exhibit 235) was admitted
Eighth Amendment challenge to aggregate sentence (functional life sentence under Miller)	Aggregate 90–140 years is the functional equivalent of life without parole for a juvenile and violates Miller’s requirement of individualized consideration	Court held an individualized sentencing process, imposed minimum statutory terms, discussed juvenile characteristics, and applied Miller protections; consecutive terms were chosen to account for two victims	Claim rejected: sentencing complied with Miller; consecutive minimum statutory sentences do not automatically constitute unlawful life sentences

Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) (juvenile homicide sentencing: mandatory life without parole violates Eighth Amendment)
State v. Castaneda, 295 Neb. 547 (2017) (Nebraska decision treating aggregate long juvenile sentence and analyzing Miller protections)
State v. Jones, 297 Neb. 557 (2017) (evidentiary relevancy/Rule 403 principles applied)
State v. Burries, 297 Neb. 367 (2017) (discusses legal standard for reviewing Eighth Amendment sentencing questions)