Tyler v. Houston

728 N.W.2d 549, 273 Neb. 100
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 23, 2007
DocketS-07-101
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 728 N.W.2d 549 (Tyler v. Houston) 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
Tyler v. Houston, 728 N.W.2d 549, 273 Neb. 100 (Neb. 2007).

Opinion

Gerrard, J.

The issue in this original action for writ of habeas corpus is whether the time that Billy R. Tyler was free on bond, pursuant to an order of the district court granting a writ of habeas corpus, should be credited against the sentence that Tyler was required to complete after the district court’s order was reversed on appeal.

BACKGROUND

The petitioner, Tyler, is an inmate committed to the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (the Department). Robert R Houston, the director of the Department, is the respondent in this action in his official capacity.

Tyler was convicted in the Douglas County District Court of three counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Tyler was sentenced to 7 to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count, with the sentences to be served concurrently, and Tyler was to receive credit for 80 days’ time served. The sentences were imposed on February 9, 1996.

During the course of his imprisonment, Tyler forfeited all of his “good time” credit. However, Tyler challenged the forfeiture, and on July 1, 2003, the Johnson County District Court entered an order granting Tyler’s pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, on the basis that Tyler’s good time had been improperly forfeited because the authority to approve the forfeiture of good time had been improperly delegated. The Department appealed, but on July 11, 2003, Tyler was released on bond pursuant to an order of the Johnson County District Court.

On November 21, 2003, this court decided Martin v. Nebraska Dept. of Corr. Servs., 1 an appeal brought from a similar challenge raised by another inmate, in which we rejected the Johnson *102 County District Court’s reasoning. In Tyler’s case, 2 we summarily reversed the judgment and remanded the cause to the district court for further consideration in light of Martin. Our mandate issued on March 26, 2004, and was spread on the record of the Johnson County District Court on March 29, 2004. Tyler was ordered to surrender himself to the Department.

On April 19, 2004, the Johnson, County District Court entered a failure to appear on the record, declared Tyler’s bond to be forfeited, and issued a warrant for Tyler’s arrest. On November 7, Tyler was arrested, and on November 8, he was reincarcerated by the Department.

Tyler has raised a number of pro se challenges to his continued confinement. 3 In particular, Tyler filed a pro se declaratory judgment action in the Lancaster County District Court requesting that he be granted credit against his remaining sentence for the 485 days he was out. on bond. The Lancaster County District Court initially denied Tyler leave to proceed in forma pauperis-on the ground that the action was frivolous, but the Nebraska Court of Appeals concluded the action was not frivolous and reversed the district court’s determination. 4 The district court denied Tyler the relief sought, and an appeal from that order is pending on this court’s docket.

Tyler also filed a pro se petition for habeas corpus relief in the Lancaster County District Court that was denied as premature, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that determination. 5 In its opinion, the Court of Appeals distinguished between the time Tyler was lawfully free on bond and the time he was at large after he was ordered to surrender. The court, reasoned that Tyler was not entitled to credit against his sentence for the 202 days during which he was in violation.of his bond. The court concluded that

*103 [a]t the time of Tyler’s release on bond, his projected release date was November 18, 2005. Because Tyler is not entitled to any credit as time served for the 202 days that he was out of custody and in violation of his appearance bond, his projected release date would have become at least sometime in June 2006.
Tyler filed his petition seeking habeas corpus relief on September 8, 2005.... As such, when Tyler filed for habeas corpus relief and when the court ruled on his petition, the district court correctly held that Tyler was not entitled to habeas corpus relief on the basis of credit as time served. 6

Because it was not necessary in that appeal, the Court of Appeals expressly declined to address whether Tyler was entitled to credit for any other period of time he was out on bond. 7

Tyler also filed a pro se motion in the Douglas County District Court, generally asking the court to release him from confinement. The Douglas County District Court denied the motion, and the Court of Appeals sustained the State’s motion for summary affirmance. 8 Because the case presented the same issue as the appeal from the Lancaster County District Court that was already on this court’s docket, we sustained Tyler’s petition for further review, 9 and appointed counsel to represent Tyler for purposes of that appeal.

Through his newly appointed counsel, on January 19, 2007, Tyler filed an application with this court for leave to commence an original action for writ of habeas corpus. Ordinarily, in the interest of proper state practice and procedure, we initially require a party to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the trial court. 10 However, Tyler alleged that because of the appeals pending from the prior pro se motions, the district court in neither Douglas nor Lancaster County had jurisdiction to consider Tyler’s claim for *104 immediate release. 11 We granted Tyler’s application, subject to the parties’ filing a stipulation of facts with this court within 10 days. The parties filed such a stipulation on January 26, 2007, and we expedited briefing and oral argument.

ANALYSIS

Habeas corpus is a special civil proceeding providing a summary remedy to persons illegally detained. 12 A writ of habeas corpus is a remedy which is constitutionally available in a proceeding to challenge and test the legality of a person’s detention, imprisonment, or custodial deprivation of liberty. 13 A writ is available only when the release of the petitioner from the deprivation of liberty being attacked will follow as a result of a decision in the petitioner’s favor. 14 Habeas corpus requires the showing of legal cause, that is, that a person is detained illegally and is entitled to the benefits of the writ. 15

Neb. Rev. Stat.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
728 N.W.2d 549, 273 Neb. 100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tyler-v-houston-neb-2007.