Summary
The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed Christina M. Greer’s convictions on 11 counts arising from allegations of sexual assault of children and her aggregate sentence of 64 to 102 years’ imprisonment. The court rejected challenges to the procedure used to correct a jury instruction, the admission of testimony concerning child grooming, and the consecutive nature of the sentences. The court held that Greer failed to demonstrate prejudicial instructional error or an abuse of discretion concerning expert testimony or sentencing.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court's procedure of initially reading an incomplete jury instruction defining penetration and later rereading a complete version was prejudicial error.
- Whether the district court improperly admitted Colleen Brazil's expert testimony concerning the concept of grooming under Nebraska evidence law and Daubert.
- Whether Greer's sentences were excessive or constituted an abuse of discretion, particularly because multiple sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
Holdings
- The district court's procedure of initially reading an incomplete instruction and later reading the complete instruction did not warrant reversal because Greer failed to provide a complete record of the initial instruction and failed to show prejudice or an adverse effect on a substantial right.
- The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Brazil's testimony concerning grooming, and Daubert did not apply because Brazil did not offer an opinion that Greer's conduct constituted grooming.
- The sentences were not excessive, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by ordering the sentences for the separate offenses to run consecutively.
Key quotations
“Daubert does not create a special analysis for answering questions about the admissibility of all expert testimony. Not every attack on expert testimony amounts to a Daubert claim.” (362)
“The test of whether consecutive sentences may be imposed under two or more counts charging separate offenses, arising out of the same transaction or the same chain of events, is whether the offense charged in one count involves any different elements than an offense charged in another count.” (365)
Factual background
Greer was charged in four consolidated cases with offenses involving alleged sexual assaults of children, child abuse, witness tampering, and child enticement. The jury convicted her on 11 counts, including first degree sexual assault of a child, child abuse, and witness tampering, and acquitted her on two counts. The district court admitted testimony from Colleen Brazil concerning the concept of grooming, and imposed an aggregate sentence of 64 to 102 years' imprisonment, with most sentences ordered to run consecutively.
Procedural history
Greer was charged in four cases involving alleged sexual assaults and child abuse. The cases were consolidated for trial. She was convicted of 11 counts and sentenced to an aggregate 64 to 102 years' imprisonment, with certain sentences concurrent and the remainder consecutive. She appealed, challenging the jury-instruction procedure, admission of expert testimony concerning grooming, and the excessiveness of her sentences.