Opinion ID: 4515832
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: standard of review

Text: [1] An appellate court may, at its option, notice plain error. 1 [2] We review the trial court’s decision on a motion to withdraw as counsel for an abuse of discretion. 2 [3] Trial courts have broad discretion with respect to sanctions involving discovery procedures, and their rulings thereon will not be reversed in the absence of an abuse of discretion. 3 [4] The meaning and interpretation of statutes and regulations are questions of law for which an appellate court has an obligation to reach an independent conclusion irrespective of the decision made by the court below. 4 [5] Appellate review of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is a mixed question of law and fact. 5 When reviewing a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, an appellate court reviews the factual findings of the lower court for clear error. 6 With regard to the questions of counsel’s performance or prejudice to the defendant as part of the two-pronged test 1 Mays v. Midnite Dreams, 300 Neb. 485, 915 N.W.2d 71 (2018). 2 State v. McGuire, 286 Neb. 494, 837 N.W.2d 767 (2013). 3 State v. Hatfield, 304 Neb. 66, 933 N.W.2d 78 (2019). 4 In re Application No. OP-0003, 303 Neb. 872, 932 N.W.2d 653 (2019). 5 State v. Chairez, 302 Neb. 731, 924 N.W.2d 725 (2019). 6 Id. - 258 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 305 Nebraska Reports STATE v. SIERRA Cite as 305 Neb. 249 articulated in Strickland v. Washington, 7 an appellate court reviews such legal determinations independently of the lower court’s decision. 8 [6] In reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal, an appellate court decides only whether the undisputed facts contained within the record are sufficient to conclusively determine whether counsel did or did not provide effective assistance and whether the defendant was or was not prejudiced by counsel’s alleged deficient performance. 9