State v. Wilson

306 Neb. 875, 947 N.W.2d 704
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 21, 2020
DocketS-19-638
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 306 Neb. 875 (State v. Wilson) 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. Wilson, 306 Neb. 875, 947 N.W.2d 704 (Neb. 2020).

Opinion

Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 11/13/2020 08:10 AM CST

- 875 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports STATE v. WILSON Cite as 306 Neb. 875

State of Nebraska, appellee, v. Brady J. Wilson, appellant. ___ N.W.2d ___

Filed August 21, 2020. No. S-19-638.

1. Statutes: Appeal and Error. Statutory interpretation presents a question of law, which an appellate court reviews independently. 2. Convicted Sex Offender: Statutes: Legislature: Intent. Nebraska’s Sex Offender Registration Act is a civil regulatory scheme intended by the Legislature to protect the public from the danger posed by sex offenders. 3. Statutes: Appeal and Error. Statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning, and an appellate court will not resort to inter- pretation to ascertain the meaning of statutory words which are plain, direct, and unambiguous. 4. Statutes. A court must attempt to give effect to all parts of a statute, and if it can be avoided, no word, clause, or sentence will be rejected as superfluous or meaningless. 5. Statutes: Legislature: Intent. A collection of statutes pertaining to a single subject matter are in pari materia and should be conjunctively considered and construed to determine the intent of the Legislature, so that different provisions are consistent, harmonious, and sensible. 6. Statutes: Legislature: Presumptions: Judicial Construction. In deter- mining the meaning of a statute, the applicable rule is that when the Legislature enacts a law affecting an area which is already the subject of other statutes, it is presumed that it did so with full knowledge of the preexisting legislation and the decisions of the Nebraska Supreme Court construing and applying that legislation. 7. Statutes: Legislature: Intent. The intent of the Legislature may be found through its omission of words from a statute as well as its inclu- sion of words in a statute. - 876 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports STATE v. WILSON Cite as 306 Neb. 875

Appeal from the District Court for Hamilton County: Rachel A. Daugherty, Judge. Affirmed. Mark Porto, of Porto Law Office, for appellant. Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, and Siobhan E. Duffy for appellee. Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ. Papik, J. After accepting Brady J. Wilson’s no contest pleas to first degree sexual assault and another related charge, the dis- trict court sentenced him. As part of sentencing, it found that Wilson committed an aggravated offense under the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) and was thus subject to a lifetime registration requirement. Wilson appeals the district court’s finding that he committed an aggravated offense. We find that the district court did not err and affirm. BACKGROUND Charges and Convictions. In December 2018, the State charged Wilson by informa- tion with three counts of first degree sexual assault and one count of visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involv- ing a child. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the State later filed an amended information charging Wilson with one count of first degree sexual assault and one count of attempting to pos- sess a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child. Under the plea agreement, Wilson agreed to plead guilty or no contest to the charges in the amended information. The State also agreed to dismiss charges against Wilson in another case involving the same victim. At the plea hearing, Wilson stated that he wished to plead no contest to both charges in the amended information. - 877 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports STATE v. WILSON Cite as 306 Neb. 875

The State provided a factual basis for the charges at the plea hearing. With respect to the first degree sexual assault charge, the prosecutor stated that after initially communicating on a social media application, Wilson, who was then 21 years old, met the victim, a 15-year-old female, in September 2018. Wilson brought alcohol to the meeting, and both he and the victim consumed it, with the victim drinking to the point of intoxication. Wilson then drove to a rural area and attempted to have sexual intercourse with the victim. The victim said that she did not want to have sexual intercourse, but ultimately sex- ual intercourse occurred. Wilson later admitted to an investiga- tor that the victim said no when he attempted to have sexual intercourse with her. Wilson’s counsel subsequently confirmed that Wilson did not dispute the factual basis. The district court also confirmed with Wilson that he still wished to plead no contest. After doing so, the district court accepted the pleas and found Wilson guilty of both counts alleged in the amended information.

Sentencing. A few months later, the district court held a sentencing hearing. The district court sentenced Wilson to 6 to 10 years’ incar­ceration for first degree sexual assault and 1 to 3 years’ incarceration for attempted possession of a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. Of relevance to this appeal, the district court stated that because of the nature of his crimes, Wilson was subject to the requirements of SORA. The district court also stated that it had found that “the offense for which you have been con- victed is an aggravated offense as defined by [Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-4001.01 (Reissue 2016)], and you are therefore required to register for life.” On the same day as the sentencing hearing, the district court also entered a written judgment and sentencing order. In it, the district court again stated that it had found that Wilson had - 878 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 306 Nebraska Reports STATE v. WILSON Cite as 306 Neb. 875

committed an aggravated offense and was therefore required to register under SORA for life. Wilson timely appealed. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR Wilson assigns a single error on appeal. He contends that the district court erred by determining that Wilson committed an aggravated offense and is therefore required to register under SORA for life. STANDARD OF REVIEW A trial court’s factual determination that a defendant’s crime was an aggravated offense under SORA is reviewed as a ques- tion of the sufficiency of the evidence. See, State v. Norman, 285 Neb. 72, 824 N.W.2d 739 (2013); State v. Hamilton, 277 Neb. 593, 763 N.W.2d 731 (2009). [1] Statutory interpretation presents a question of law, which an appellate court reviews independently. State v. Clemens, 300 Neb. 601, 915 N.W.2d 550 (2018). ANALYSIS Statutory Background. [2] There is no dispute in this case that as a result of his conviction of first degree sexual assault, Wilson is now sub- ject to SORA. SORA is a civil regulatory scheme intended by the Legislature to protect the public from the danger posed by sex offenders. Hamilton, supra. Generally, SORA requires individuals that plead guilty to or are convicted of certain enumerated offenses to register with the county sheriff in the counties where they reside, work, and attend school. See State v. Ratumaimuri, 299 Neb. 887, 911 N.W.2d 270 (2018). SORA requirements may also apply to individuals that plead guilty to or are convicted of other offenses. Ratumaimuri, supra. Wilson was convicted of first degree sexual assault under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-319 (Reissue 2016), a conviction that makes him automatically subject to SORA’s requirements. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-4003(1)(a)(i)(C) (Reissue 2016).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
306 Neb. 875, 947 N.W.2d 704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wilson-neb-2020.