No. 24-600

Quiotis C., Jr. v. Nebraska

Lower Court: Nebraska
Docketed: 2024-12-03
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response WaivedRelisted (2)
Tags: batson-challenge constitutional-rights jury-trial juvenile-justice prosecutorial-discretion sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
DueProcess Punishment CriminalProcedure Securities
Latest Conference: 2025-03-21 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether juveniles are guaranteed a Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in juvenile court proceedings when prosecutors can unilaterally deny such a right by filing charges in juvenile court

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether all juveniles are guaranteed the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in the Constitution regardless of their geographic location when the prosecutor can unilaterally deny the juvenile a jury trial by filing felony criminal charges in juvenile court to intentionally deny the juvenile the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial when the juvenile has a strong defense or the prosecutor has a weak case. 2. Whether the Constitution guarantees all juveniles and this African American juvenile, who was intentionally denied his Batson and Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because the prosecutor unilaterally filed the case in juvenile court, are guaranteed their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in either juvenile court or adult court because after the case was filed the prosecutor received evidence that the juvenile would be acquitted and was acquitted of manslaughter because of self defense so the prosecutor, six months after the manslaughter case was filed, added additional charges upon which the juvenile was subsequently convicted in a bench trial in juvenile court based upon the contradictory testimony of the state witnesses which was not beyond a reasonable doubt. 3. Whether the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial and Batson, which is mandatory, guarantees African Americans juveniles in the U.S. a jury trial which does not purposely “exclude members of his own race” from the fact-finding decision in a juvenile bench trial. u 4. Whether the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial applies to all juveniles in the U.S., when the juvenile is charged with a felony crime because the prosecutor has concurrent jurisdiction to deny a jury trial by filing the case in juvenile court instead of adult court where the juvenile is guaranteed a jury trial for serious felony charges. 5. Whether the Sixth Amendment right to a juvenile jury trial when they are charged with a felony applies to all juveniles in the same manner the constitutional criminal rights apply to all juveniles to remain silent in Miranda, the right to an attorney in Gideon and proof beyond a reasonable doubt in Winship which applies to all juveniles in the U.S. 6. Whether Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-279(1), which denies juveniles a jury trial, is unconstitutional because it violates the Nebraska Constitution 1-6, the U.S. Constitution, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection of the Law, Due Process and Batson v. Kentucky and was timely asserted by the juvenile. 7. Whether the Nebraska structural juvenile court system which denies jury trials to an African American Juvenile is unconstitutional because it excludes the jury by allowing an all-white court system of a prosecutor, a juvenile court judge and a Nebraska Supreme Court which excludes blacks and black jurors from the process in the fact-finding decision of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt of the charges. 8. Whether any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt and not by the preponderance of the evidence the essential elements of the crime of Tampering, because the juvenile did not hide or destroy the gun, and Minor in Possession, because the juvenile did not possess the gun prior to the self defense shooting, based upon the contradictory testimony of an eight year old white witness and a 63 year old white witness for the state who the judge ruled credible and the uncontradicted testimony of the three black defense witnesses for the juvenile who were not ruled credible. 9. Whether the court’s refusal to cite, mention or refer to relevant witnesses, U.S. Supreme court case law and relevant Nebraska Statutes is unconstitutional and violates the juvenile’s constitutional rights. 10. Whether the codification of the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Fourteenth and Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial in every state constitution in the U.S. should grant every juvenile in the U.S. a Sixth Amendment right to a petit juvenile

Docket Entries

2025-03-24
Rehearing DENIED.
2025-03-05
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/21/2025.
2025-02-21
Petition of Quiotis Cross Jr for rehearing submitted.
2025-02-21
2025-01-27
Petition DENIED.
2025-01-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/24/2025.
2025-01-02
Waiver of Nebraska of right to respond submitted.
2025-01-02
Waiver of right of respondent Nebraska to respond filed.
2024-11-27
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 2, 2025)

Attorneys

Nebraska
Eric James HamiltonOffice of the Attorney General of Nebraska, Respondent
Zachary Aaron VigliancoNebraska Department of Justice, Respondent
Zachary Aaron VigliancoNebraska Department of Justice, Respondent
Quiotis Cross Jr
Timothy L. AshfordTimothy L. Ashford, P.C, L.L.O, Petitioner
Timothy L. AshfordTimothy L. Ashford, P.C, L.L.O, Petitioner