Summary
The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of a declaratory and injunctive action brought by death row inmates challenging the repeal of legislation abolishing Nebraska’s death penalty. The court held that the plaintiffs had other equally serviceable remedies, including postconviction proceedings or a pending direct appeal, and therefore could not maintain the declaratory judgment action. The court did not reach the remaining assignments of error or the cross-appeal.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Nebraska Supreme Court had jurisdiction to review the appeal.
- Whether the inmates could maintain a declaratory-judgment action when direct appeal or postconviction remedies were available to challenge their death sentences.
- Whether the court needed to reach the inmates' remaining claims concerning the referendum, separation of powers, sentence modification, and amendment of the complaint.
- Whether certain defendants were misjoined.
Holdings
- The court had jurisdiction to hear and decide the declaratory-judgment action and therefore could address whether the complaint stated a claim for relief.
- The inmates could not maintain their declaratory-judgment action because they had other equally serviceable remedies: a pending direct appeal for Jenkins and postconviction actions for the other inmates.
Key quotations
“We conclude that the inmates have equally serviceable remedies and accordingly affirm the district court’s dismissal of their declaratory judgment action.” (302 Neb. 144)
Factual background
Eight inmates convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death challenged the repeal of Nebraska Legislative Bill 268, which had abolished the death penalty. After voters approved a referendum repealing L.B. 268, the inmates filed a declaratory-judgment action asserting that the referendum was invalid and that their sentences had become life sentences before the referendum took effect. At the time of suit, Jenkins had a pending direct appeal, and the other inmates had filed postconviction actions raising related challenges to their death sentences.
Procedural history
The inmates sought declarations that the referendum repealing Nebraska's legislative abolition of the death penalty was invalid and that their death sentences had been converted to life imprisonment. The Lancaster County District Court granted defendants' motions to dismiss, concluding that the inmates had equally serviceable remedies and that their other theories failed to state claims. The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed on the alternative-remedy ground.