Summary
The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed the State’s appeal from an order granting Clay Younglove Bixby’s motion for absolute discharge on statutory speedy-trial grounds. The court held that Bixby’s plea in bar did not reach final disposition until completion of the appellate proceedings, making an additional 31 days excludable from the speedy-trial calculation. The court reversed the discharge order and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the State's appeal was properly before the Nebraska Supreme Court under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2315.01.
- Whether a defendant's pretrial motion has a final disposition for statutory speedy-trial purposes when the motion is denied but the defendant pursues an interlocutory appeal.
- Whether the 31 days between denial of Bixby's plea in bar and his filing of an interlocutory appeal were excludable from the speedy-trial calculation.
- Whether the district court clearly erred by granting Bixby's motion for absolute discharge and dismissing the case.
Holdings
- Because the State perfected its appeal under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2315.01, the Nebraska Supreme Court had jurisdiction and did not need to address the State's alternative jurisdictional theory under § 25-1912.
- Unless no appeal is taken, a defendant's pretrial motion is not finally granted or determined for purposes of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207(4)(a) until an appellate court has finally decided the matter. The period from filing the motion through appellate disposition is excludable time.
- The district court clearly erred in granting Bixby's motion for absolute discharge because the additional 31 excludable days extended the speedy-trial deadline to January 29, 2021, making the January 26 trial date timely.
Key quotations
“We agree with the Court of Appeals’ conclusion in Hayes and find that in the case of a defendant’s pretrial motion, the motion is not finally granted or determined, unless there is no appeal, until an appellate court has decided the matter.” (at 120)
“By choosing to appeal the denial of his plea in bar, Bixby prevented the plea in bar from having a “final disposition” until it could be heard and decided by an appellate court.” (at 121)
Factual background
Bixby was charged with driving under the influence, possession of an open container, and driving on the shoulder of a highway. After the prosecutor elicited improper testimony during trial, the district court granted Bixby's motion for a mistrial. Bixby then filed a plea in bar and pursued an interlocutory appeal from its denial; the appellate proceedings concluded when the Court of Appeals' mandate was spread in the district court in August 2020. The district court treated 615 days as excludable but charged the 31 days between denial of the plea in bar and filing of the appeal to the State, resulting in an absolute discharge when the scheduled trial date fell after the calculated deadline.
Procedural history
After a mistrial, Bixby filed a plea in bar, whose denial was affirmed by the Nebraska Court of Appeals; the Nebraska Supreme Court denied further review. The district court later granted Bixby's motion for absolute discharge, finding that the statutory speedy-trial deadline had expired. The State appealed, perfected an appeal under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2315.01, and obtained a bypass of the Court of Appeals.
Remand instructions
The cause was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.