Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing and without first giving him an opportunity to respond to the State's reply, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion for postconviction relief.Defendant was convicted of first degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony, and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person. The Supreme Court affirmed. Thereafter, Defendant brought his motion for postconviction relief, raising several allegations of error. The district court rejected Defendant's claims without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no merit to Defendant's assignments of error. View "State v. Jennings" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant for terroristic threats, in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-311.01, and sentencing him to two years' imprisonment followed by eighteen months of post-release supervision, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his assignments of error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not err in its interpretation of section 28-311.01(1)(a), as applied to these facts, and there was no merit to Defendant's argument that the terroristic threats statute does not require a recipient of the threat; and (2) venue was proper under Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-1301 because the State offered sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an element of the terroristic threats occurred in Sarpy County. View "State v. Godek" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant, following a jury trial, of disturbing the peace, holding that the district court did not err by reviewing his appeal only for plain error and that the record was insufficient to reach Defendant's argument that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a statement of errors.Defendant's counsel timely appealed Defendant's county court conviction and later filed a bill of exceptions but did not file a statement of errors within ten days of filing the bill of exceptions. Consequently, the district court reviewed the appeal only for plain error and affirmed the judgment below. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err by limiting its review to plain error; and (2) the record was insufficient to reach Defendant's remaining argument. View "State v. Warren" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant, after a jury trial, of sexual assault in the first degree, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in prohibiting Defendant from questioning the complaining witness, J.K., about her prior allegation against a doctor.On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred by prohibiting from asking J.K. about an allegation she made against her prenatal doctor regarding inappropriate touching during the course of a prenatal examination. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court's decision to exclude the evidence did not violate Defendant's constitutional right to confront his accuser. View "State v. Ali" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint seeking dissolution of her marriage to Defendant, holding that the district court erred by dismissing this action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.In his motion to dismiss, Defendant asserted that the parties were legally divorced in Venezuela, and therefore, the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the dissolution action under Rule 12(b)(1) and lacked personal jurisdiction over Defendant under Rule 12(b)(2). The district court sustained the motion to dismiss. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court erred in concluding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the dissolution action because the complaint's allegations sufficiently established the court's subject matter jurisdiction over the marital relationship; and (2) the district court erred to the extent it relied on its equitable estoppel findings to support dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. View "Bleich v. Bleich" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's appeal from an order of the county court that ruled on Appellant's petition for trust administration, holding that the order from which Appellant attempted to appeal was not a final order.Appellant filed a petition for trust administration proceeding with regarding to a family trust. After the county court entered its order ruling on the petition Appellant appealed. The court of appeals dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the county court's ruling was not a final order in the trust administration proceeding; and (2) therefore, this Court lacked jurisdiction to hear this appeal. View "In re Estate of Scaletta" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the probate court denying a petition to assess state inheritance tax under Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2002(1)(b) on real property that Decedents had deeded to their daughter (Daughter) decades prior while continuing to exercise control over and paying taxes on the property until they died, holding that the property was subject to Nebraska inheritance tax under section 77-2002(1)(b).Daughter brought this petition to assess state inheritance taxes on the subject real property. The county court concluded that the property should not be included in the Decedents' estate for purposes of inheritance tax because it was not "intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment, after his or her death." The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the stipulated facts showed that Decedents intended to retain possession and enjoyment of the property until death; and (2) therefore, the property was subject to Nebraska inheritance tax under section 77-2002(1)(b). View "In re Estate of Lofgreen" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-217, holding that the petition did not state a cognizable ground for relief.Appellant pled no contest to attempted first degree sexual assault and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Appellant later filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging that his conviction and sentence were void. The district court dismissed the action without prejudice pursuant to section 25-217. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court erred when it dismissed the habeas petition pursuant to section 25-217 because section 25-217 has no application to habeas corpus proceedings; and (2) upon de novo review, it was proper to dismiss the petition for writ of habeas corpus because none of the allegations in the petition set forth facts which, if true, would entitle Appellant to habeas relief. View "Childs v. Frakes" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint brought by Plaintiffs, Central States Development, LLC and Saint James Apartment Partners, against Defendants, Elizabeth Friedgut and the law firm of DLA Piper, LLP, holding that dismissal was proper.Friedgut, as DLA's employee, represented Plaintiffs in a dispute with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Plaintiffs later brought a negligence case against Defendants in connection with that representation. The district court dismissed the complaint, concluding that Defendants did not have the requisite minimum contacts with Nebraska to establish personal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in dismissing the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. View "Central States Development v. Friedgut" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree and criminal conspiracy to commit first degree murder and his sentence of death, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error on appeal.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) there was no merit to Defendant's challenges to the death qualification of his jury; (2) the trial court did not err by refusing to sever the trials on the charges for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder; (3) the court’s release of the victim’s mother from sequestration after she testified was not an abuse of discretion; (4) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's motions for a mistrial and a new trial after a verbal outburst and act of self-harm in front of the jury; and (5) Defendant's constitutional challenges to Nebraska's sentencing scheme were unavailing. View "State v. Trail" on Justia Law