State v. Wilcox

479 N.W.2d 134, 239 Neb. 882, 1992 Neb. LEXIS 15
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 31, 1992
Docket90-731, 90-732
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 479 N.W.2d 134 (State v. Wilcox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Wilcox, 479 N.W.2d 134, 239 Neb. 882, 1992 Neb. LEXIS 15 (Neb. 1992).

Opinion

Shanahan, J.

Dale Wilcox appeals his sentences for two felony convictions, namely, his conviction for issuing a bad check in the amount of $287.49, which is Wilcox’s second conviction for issuing a bad check and thus a Class IV felony, see Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-611(1) and (2) (Reissue 1979), and his conviction for ■first degree assault, a Class III felony, see Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-308 (Reissue 1989).

On December 15,1981, the district court for Buffalo County sentenced Wilcox to 2 years’ probation on his conviction for issuing the $287.49 bad check. Subsequently, on March 4,1982, the district court sentenced Wilcox to 3 years’ probation on his conviction of first degree assault. Regarding both convictions and as a term of probation in each case, Wilcox was required to make monetary restitution and was forbidden to leave the jurisdiction. Additionally, as a condition of probation for the conviction on the check charge, Wilcox was ordered to receive outpatient counseling for alcohol abuse and attend meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

On December 8, 1983, the State moved for revocation of Wilcox’s probation on the bad check conviction and alleged that Wilcox had failed to make restitution, obtain alcohol abuse counseling, and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The district court, in revocation proceedings on January 25, 1984, concluded that Wilcox had violated probation, but extended Wilcox’s probation to March 1,1985.

On August 3, 1984, the State moved for revocation of Wilcox’s probation for both convictions. Concerning the assault conviction, the State alleged that Wilcox, without notifying his probation officer, had twice left the jurisdiction during the term of his probation. The State also alleged that Wilcox violated probation on the bad check conviction by his departure from the court’s jurisdiction without notifying his probation officer and by his failure to make restitution. When *884 Wilcox failed to appear for the revocation hearing, the district court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, and' Wilcox was subsequently arrested, in May 1990. At the hearing for revocation of his probation, Wilcox voluntarily waived his right to an evidentiary hearing and admitted the violations of probation alleged in the State’s motions. The court accepted Wilcox’s admissions of probation violations, revoked the probation imposed for each of Wilcox’s convictions, and sentenced Wilcox to imprisonment for 6 months on each conviction, with the sentences to be served concurrently in the Buffalo County Detention Center.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Wilcox contends that the district court abused its discretion by not sentencing Wilcox to probation rather than incarceration, and that, in any event, the sentences imposed are excessive. The State counters that the court imposed an invalid sentence on the conviction for first degree assault, because Wilcox’s sentence to imprisonment is for a term less than the statutory minimum.

CONVICTION ON CHECK CHARGE

Second-offense issuing a bad check is a Class IV felony, see §28-611(2), punishable by a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, or both such imprisonment and fine, see Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-105(1) (Reissue 1979); hence, a conviction for issuing a bad check carries no statutorily prescribed minimum sentence. The district court sentenced Wilcox to 6 months’ imprisonment in the Buffalo County Detention Center.

“ ‘A sentence imposed within the statutory limits will not be disturbed on appeal unless the sentencing court has abused its discretion in the sentence imposed.’ ” State v. Johnson, 238 Neb. 206, 208, 469 N.W.2d 761, 763 (1991) (quoting from State v. Kitt, 232 Neb. 237, 440 N.W.2d 234 (1989)). Accord, State v. Witt, 239 Neb. 400, 476 N.W.2d 556 (1991); State v. Staten, 238 Neb. 13, 469 N.W.2d 112 (1991). This court has also stated:

[I]n considering a proper sentence, the trial court is not limited in its discretion to any mathematically applied set of factors. It is necessarily a subjective judgment and *885 includes the observations of the sentencing judge as to the demeanor, attitude, and all facts and circumstances surrounding the life of the defendant.

State v. Stranghoener, 208 Neb. 598, 603, 304 N.W.2d 679, 682 (1981). Accord, State v. Witt, supra; State v. Tuttle, 238 Neb. 827, 472 N.W.2d 712 (1991); State v. Schall, 234 Neb. 101, 449 N.W.2d 225 (1989). Further, “[w]hether the sentence imposed is probation or incarceration is a matter within the discretion of the trial court, whose judgment denying probation will be upheld in the absence of an abuse of discretion.” State v. Zitterkopf, 236 Neb. 743, 749-50, 463 N.W.2d 616, 621 (1990). Accord, State v. Lane, 227 Neb. 687, 419 N.W.2d 666 (1988); State v. Brown, 225 Neb. 418, 405 N.W.2d 600 (1987).

Wilcox’s sentence on the bad check conviction is within the range of penalties statutorily prescribed for a Class IV felony. In view of Wilcox’s unwillingness to fulfill the conditions of his probation, as demonstrated by the established violations of probation before revocation, we are unable to conclude that the district court abused its discretion in the sentence imposed as the result of Wilcox’s conviction for issuing a bad check.

FIRST DEGREE ASSAULT

First degree assault is a Class III felony, § 28-308(2), punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 20 years, a $25,000 fine, or both such imprisonment and fine, § 28-105(1). Thus, the minimum sentence of incarceration for a first degree assault conviction is 1 year. The district court sentenced Wilcox to 6 months’ imprisonment in the Buffalo County Detention Center. The State contends that a sentence to a term of imprisonment of 6 months for a Class III felony is unauthorized by § 28-105(1), which clearly prescribes that incarceration, as punishment for conviction of a Class III felony, is for a minimum term of 1 year.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Vences
33 Neb. Ct. App. 290 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2024)
State v. Staudenmaier
Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2021
State v. Alston
Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2020
State v. Minnick
Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2015
State v. Clark
762 N.W.2d 64 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2009)
State v. Barfield
723 N.W.2d 303 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Lotter
586 N.W.2d 591 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. McMann
541 N.W.2d 418 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1995)
State v. Mettenbrink
520 N.W.2d 780 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1994)
T.O. Haas Tire Co. v. Futura Coatings, Inc.
507 N.W.2d 297 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. Owen
510 N.W.2d 503 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. Collins
510 N.W.2d 330 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. Boye
499 N.W.2d 860 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1993)
State v. Bell
493 N.W.2d 339 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Benitez
493 N.W.2d 353 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1992)
Wichman v. Naylor
487 N.W.2d 291 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Partee
482 N.W.2d 272 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Foral
481 N.W.2d 583 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
479 N.W.2d 134, 239 Neb. 882, 1992 Neb. LEXIS 15, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wilcox-neb-1992.