State v. Lotter

917 N.W.2d 850, 301 Neb. 125
Nebraska Supreme Court·Decided September 28, 2018·No. Nos. S-17-325; S-17-338; S-17-339; S-17-1126; S-17-1127; S-17-1129.·Published·Cited by 360 cases

Opinion

Cassel, J.

**127I. INTRODUCTION

*854In identical, successive postconviction motions filed in three cases, John L. Lotter sought relief based on a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision1 and on a death qualification issue. In separate orders filed months apart, the district court denied relief on each issue. Because Lotter did not timely appeal the denials of the death qualification issue, we lack jurisdiction over those appeals. We affirm the denials of the other claim as time barred, because the decision he relies upon is not a "newly recognized right [that] has been made applicable retroactively to cases on postconviction collateral review."2

**128II. BACKGROUND

1. CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCING

Lotter's crimes are well known, and the underlying facts are set forth in our decision on Lotter's direct appeal.3 In three separate cases against Lotter which were consolidated for trial, a jury convicted him of several crimes, including three counts of first degree murder. In accordance with the laws in effect at the time of his trial, a three-judge panel convened in February 1996 to determine whether Lotter should be sentenced to death. The panel found the applicability of three aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt and imposed the death penalty.

A criminal conviction is final for purposes of collateral review when the judgment of conviction is rendered, the availability of appeal is exhausted, and the time for petition for certiorari has lapsed.4 Lotter's convictions became final in 1999.5

*8552. KEY U.S. SUPREME COURT SIXTH AMENDMENT CASES

(a) Apprendi v. New Jersey

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Apprendi v. New Jersey ,6 a landmark decision with respect to Sixth Amendment jurisprudence. In that case, a hate crime statute authorized an increase in the prescribed statutory maximum sentence based on a judge's finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant acted with purpose to intimidate the victim **129based on the particular circumstances of the victim. The trial judge concluded that the defendant had been motivated by racial bias, and in accordance with the statute, the judge increased the defendant's sentence.

The Apprendi Court addressed whether a judge, rather than a jury, could find facts that increased the defendant's maximum sentence. The Court determined that the statute violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 6th Amendment right to trial by jury. It declared:

Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. With that exception, we endorse the statement of the rule set forth in the concurring opinions in that case: "[I]t is unconstitutional for a legislature to remove from the jury the assessment of facts that increase the prescribed range of penalties to which a criminal defendant is exposed. It is equally clear that such facts must be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt."7

(b) Ring v. Arizona

Two years after Apprendi , the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ring v. Arizona .8 Ring applied the Apprendi rule to capital sentencing schemes and determined that capital defendants are entitled to a jury determination of any fact that would increase the possible maximum punishment. The Court held, "Because Arizona's enumerated aggravating factors operate as 'the functional equivalent of an element of a greater offense,' ... the Sixth Amendment requires that they be found by a jury."9 Ring **130explicitly overruled one of its prior cases "to the extent that it allows a sentencing judge, sitting without a jury, to find an aggravating circumstance necessary for imposition of the death penalty."10

(c) Hurst v. Florida

On January 12, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court filed its decision in Hurst v. Florida11 In that case, the Court considered the constitutionality of Florida's capital sentencing scheme in light of Ring. Under Florida law, a jury renders an " 'advisory sentence' " of life or death without specifying a factual basis for its recommendation and then the court, notwithstanding the jury's recommendation, weighs the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and enters a sentence of life imprisonment or death.12 Thus, the trial court alone makes the findings necessary for imposition of a death sentence-that " 'sufficient aggravating *856circumstances exist' " and that " 'there are insufficient mitigating circumstances to outweigh the aggravating circumstances.' "13 In holding the sentencing scheme unconstitutional, the Court declared that "[t]he Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death."14 The Hurst Court stated that "Florida's sentencing scheme, which required the judge alone to find the existence of an aggravating circumstance, is therefore unconstitutional."15

3. NEBRASKA'S CAPITAL SENTENCING SCHEME

At the time of Lotter's convictions and sentences, Nebraska law provided that after a defendant was found guilty of first **131degree murder, a trial judge or a three-judge panel determined whether statutory aggravating circumstances existed.16 If such circumstances existed, the defendant faced a maximum penalty of death.17 If aggravating circumstances did not exist, the defendant faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Ring invalidated this procedure.

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State v. Lotter, 917 N.W.2d 850, 301 Neb. 125 (Neb. 2018).

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