Nebraska Court Of Appeals Affirms Denial Of Postconviction Relief Motion By Chadron Man

     A Chadron man serving 10-to-12 years in prison on a conviction for 1st-degree sexual assault has lost his latest appeal to the Nebraska Court of Appeals.

     37-year old Jesse Barber had filed for postconviction relief, a very narrowly defined way to remedy cases where a  miscarriage of justice may have occurred.

     Barber was found guilty by a Dawes County District Court jury in 2017 of having sex at his home in 2013 with an intoxicated 17-year old girl he knew.

     District Judge Travis O’Gorman rejected Barber’s direct appeal of the conviction which argued a lack of evidence to support the verdict, errors in the jury instructions, and having an ineffective attorney. 

     The Nebraska Court of Appeals in 2020 upheld O’Gorman’s rulings and the State Supreme Court denied Barber’s petition for further review, leading to the motion for postconviction relief.

     Barber offered challenges similar to those in his direct appeal, and Judge O’Gorman held a hearing on the claim Barber’s initial attorney had failed to provide an adequate defense by not locating, deposing, or calling potential witnesses, by not testing bedding, and by failing to get cell phone records.

      O’Gorman concluded that even if the claims were true, none would have changed the jury’s finding that the girl was intoxicated to a point that rendered her incapable of resisting or appraising the nature of her conduct and that Barber knew or should have known of her incapacity. 

The Court of Appeals released its decision upholding Judge O’Gorman’s findings and conclusions last week

      Under Nebraska’s good time rules, Barber is eligible for parole this November and for automatic release next year..