Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of false reporting and was sentenced to probation for eighteen months. Defendant was directed to have no contact with her husband without the court's permission as a condition of probation. Defendant appealed her sentence. The Supreme Court (1) vacated the sentence in part, holding that the county court erred in prohibiting Defendant from having any contact with her husband, as the broad prohibition on Defendant's contact with her husband was an unreasonable infringement upon Defendant's fundamental rights arising from marriage; and (2) affirmed the sentence in all other respects. Remanded for resentencing to permit the county court either to remove the condition or to tailor it more narrowly to the factual circumstances of the case and the rehabilitative goals sought to be achieved. View "State v. Rieger" on Justia Law

Service Employees International Union Local 226 (Local 226) was the certified exclusive bargaining agent for three bargaining groups of the Douglas County School District 001 (District). Following the implementation of the District's new vacation accrual policy, Local 226 filed petitions with the Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR) alleging that the District had engaged in a prohibited practice of bad-faith bargaining under the Industrial Relations Act by failing to negotiate regarding the vacation accrual policy and that the unilateral action constituted a change in the terms and conditions of employment with respect to a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. The CIR found that the District had not engaged in a prohibited practice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the District unilaterally changed its vacation accrual policy but presented Local 226 with opportunities to give input on the policy changes and request negotiations before implementation of the changes, and because Local 226 failed to take advantage of those opportunities it waived its right to negotiate on the matter of vacation accrual. View "Serv. Employees Int'l Union (AFL-CIO) Local 226 v. Douglas County Sch. Dist." on Justia Law

Kelly and William were the biological parents of two children in the care and custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). After the children had been in the custody of DHHS for nearly twenty-eight months, the juvenile court found that no further reasonable efforts were required in support of reunification and that the primary permanency objectives for the children should be changed from reunification. On plain error review, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the juvenile court did not plainly err in finding that reasonable efforts in support of reunification were no longer required and that the primary permanency objectives for the children should be changed from reunification. View "In re Interest of Samantha L." on Justia Law