OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of a 62-year-old man who killed another man during an argument outside an Omaha apartment.

James Cotton is serving a life sentence for the August 2015 shooting death of 24-year-old Trevor Bare. In his appeal, Cotton argued, among other things, that his trial court wrongly allowed evidence obtained in a search that went beyond the scope of the warrant. He also argued that his trial attorney was ineffective.

Cotton’s attorney was criticized during the trial for temporarily hiring a witness in the case.

On Friday, the high court found Cotton’s arguments without merit, noting that when presented with evidence that his attorney may have an ethical conflict, Cotton told the judge he wanted to continue with the trial with the attorney.