State v. Custer

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Defendant to imprisonment for life for the first degree murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and affirmed his sentences as modified, holding (1) the district court did not err in refusing to give a choice of evils instruction and in giving an instruction defining premeditation that did not change or contradict the statutory definition; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant’s conviction for first degree murder; (3) the prosecutor’s comments during closing arguments were no improper; (4) the district court properly modified Defendant’s invalid oral sentence of life imprisonment by removing erroneous language of “without the possibility of parole” in the written order; (5) the sentences imposed by the district court for Defendant’s remaining convictions were not an abuse of discretion; and (6) the court committed plain error in the manner in which it ordered time served to be credited. View "State v. Custer" on Justia Law