S-22-0798 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Julena J. Reznicek (Appellant)
Appeal from District Court for Douglas County, Judge W. Russell Bowie, III, on appeal therefrom the County Court for Douglas County, Judge Marcena M. Hendrix.
Attorneys: Alexander D. Sycher (Asst. Douglas County Public Defender for Appellant) and Erin E. Tangeman (Asst. Attorney General for Appellee).
Criminal: Shoplifting, Hearsay, and Sufficiency of the Evidence.
Proceedings below: After a bench trial, the trial court found Appellant guilty of first offense shoplifting $0 to $500 and fined her $100. On appeal, the district court affirmed Appellant’s conviction and sentence. On its own motion, the Supreme Court ordered this case to be transferred from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The county court erred in admitting testimony from Von Maur employee Tyler Tietz that fellow Von Maur employee Megan Krumme communicated to Tietz that no merchandise was found in the Von Maur fitting room, because the statement was inadmissible hearsay evidence that did not fall under any exception to the hearsay rule; and 2) The evidence presented at trial lacked the probative value to sustain a guilty verdict because no rational trier of fact could have found Reznicek guilty of the crime of theft by shoplifting - $0-500 - first offense.