Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 2002, the Legislature enacted a statute requiring judges, prior to accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, to administer a specific advisement regarding possible consequences of the conviction for persons who are not citizens of the United States. At issue in this appeal was whether the court may deny a motion to set aside a plea under this statute upon proof that a defendant who was not given the required advisement was nevertheless aware of the immigration consequences of the plea and resulting conviction. Here Defendant pled no contest to attempted sexual assault and kidnapping and later filed a motion to withdraw his pleas for the district court's failure to give him the required advisement. The district court denied the motion. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the statute on its face requires that all noncitizens accused of a crime must be given the advisement; (2) Defendant established he was not given the required statutory advisement regarding immigration consequences of conviction and actually faced a consequence as a result of his convictions; and (3) Defendant was entitled to have his judgments of conviction vacated and to withdraw his pleas and enter pleas of not guilty. Remanded. View "State v. Medina-Liborio" on Justia Law

In October 2011, Defendant was charged with, inter alia, first degree murder and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. The cases were not consolidated but both cases were set for trial in March 2012. Defendant's counsel requested a continuance in the murder case. The district court continued trial in both cases to July 2012. In June 2012, Defendant moved for discharge in the murder case, alleging that his statutory and constitutional rights to a speedy trial had been violated. The district court overruled the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in overruling Defendant's motion for discharge based upon a violation of Defendant's statutory or constitutional rights to a speedy trial, as all delays in the trial were the result of Defendants' motion for continuance and motion for discharge. View "State v. Brooks" on Justia Law

In November 2009, Plaintiff filed suit against Bank seeking judgment for principal and interest allegedly due and owing on a $15,000 certificate of deposit (CD) opened by her mother in July 1984. The CD matured in April 1985. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Bank, finding that Plaintiff's claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff had to commence her action either seven years after the maturity date of the CD or one year after July 1, 2008, and therefore, Plaintiff's claims were barred by limitations, and the district court therefore did not err in entering summary judgment for Bank. View "Swift v. Norwest Bank-Omaha West" on Justia Law

Video King had its principal place of business in Nebraska. Melange Computer Services (Melange) had a business relationship with Video King since 2000. In 2006, Melange was acquired by Planet Bingo and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Planet Bingo. Video King subsequently filed an action against Melange and Planet Bingo (Defendants) in the district court seeking a declaration of the rights, status, and other legal obligations of the parties with respect to confidentiality agreements between the parties. The district court dismissed the action for lack of personal jurisdiction, noting that both Planet Bingo and Melange were foreign corporations with no agent for service of process in Nebraska. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court had specific personal jurisdiction over Defendants, and therefore, it erred in granting Defendants' motion to dismiss; and (2) Nebraska's exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over Defendants in this action would not offend notions of fair play and substantial justice. View "VKGS, LLC v. Planet Bingo, LLC" on Justia Law

United States Cold Storage (Cold Storage) and Sanitary and Improvement District No. 59 of Sarpy County (SID 59) filed complaints challenging separate annexation ordinances enacted by the City of La Vista. The ordinances at issue were ordinance 1142 and ordinance 1107, together which purported to annex SID 59 in its entirety, including an industrial area. The district court found in favor of La Vista on all claims. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in upholding the validity of both ordinance 1007 and ordinance 1142 adopted by La Vista for the annexation of SID 59. View "U.S. Cold Storage, Inc. v. City of La Vista" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of driving under the influence and was sentenced to a fifteen-year license revocation, which began in 2003 and was to continue until 2018. In 2011, Defendant was found operating a motor vehicle. Defendant pleaded no contest to driving during revocation. Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. 60-1,197.06, the trial court ordered Defendant's license be revoked for fifteen years consecutive to the revocation that was due to end in 2018. Defendant appealed, arguing that a court cannot order a fifteen-year license revocation to be consecutive to the unexpired period of revocation under which the defendant committed the offense of driving with a revoked license. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its choice of the date for Defendant's fifteen-year revocation period to commence. View "State v. Policky" on Justia Law

The State charged Defendant with first degree felony murder, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, and conspiracy to commit robbery stemming from the robbing and killing of a pizza delivery worker. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted on all counts. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court did not err in receiving into evidence certain DNA reports and related testimony; (2) the circuit court properly admitted Defendant's confession into evidence because the officers had probable cause to arrest him and because his confession was voluntary; (3) the circuit court correctly refused to instruct the jury regarding unlawful manslaughter; (4) sufficient evidence supported Defendant's convictions; and (5) defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to peremptorily strike one of the jurors during voir dire. View "State v. McClain" on Justia Law

Appellant was injured during the course of his employment with Employer. Appellant obtained a workers' compensation award that covered future medical treatment. Appellant subsequently underwent knee replacement surgery and sought a further award of benefits. The Workers' Compensation Court (WCC) denied the petition, finding that Appellant's knee replacement surgery was not established to be the product of the subject accident but, rather, was prompted by Appellant's preexisting degenerative knee condition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the evidence provided sufficient competent evidence to support a finding that Appellant's knee replacement surgery was not the result of the work-related accident, and therefore, the WCC did not err in finding that Appellant's surgery was not compensable; and (2) in so holding, the WCC was not acting contrary to the original award but was enforcing the award's plain language. View "Pearson v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Milling Co." on Justia Law

The State filed four juvenile petitions against Edward, a juvenile. The juvenile court found that Edward had violated the terms of his probation in two of these cases. In all four cases, the court found it was in Edward's best interests to be committed to the Office of Juvenile Services with placement at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center (YRTC). Edward appealed. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the Court had jurisdiction where Edward's mother, rather than Edward, signed the affidavit for an in forma pauperis appeal. The Court concluded (1) the Court had jurisdiction because in a juvenile's in forma pauperis appeal from a delinquency proceeding, the property affidavit of the juvenile's parent is sufficient to vest the Court with appellate jurisdiction; and (2) the juvenile court properly determined that Edward's best interests and the safety of the community required Edward's placement at the YRTC. View "In re Interest of Edward B." on Justia Law

Credit Bureau Services (CBS) brought an action against Experian Information Solutions (Experian) alleging that Experian sought to drive CBS out of business in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. 59-805, a provision of Nebraska's antitrust act. After a jury trial, the district court entered judgment in favor of Experian. CBS appealed, and Experian cross-appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed but for different reasoning than that of the district court, holding that the district court erred when it overruled Experian's motion for directed verdict, as CBS failed to prove each element of section 59-805, and therefore, CBS failed to show that Experian engaged in an act of violation of section 59-805. View "Credit Bureau Servs. v. Experian Info. Solutions, Inc." on Justia Law