S-24-0221 State ex rel. Michael T. Hilgers (Appellee) v. Robert Evnen, in his official capacity as Nebraska Secretary of State (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County, Judge Susan I. Strong
Attorneys: Robert F. Bartle (Bartle & Geier Law Firm for Appellant) and Michael T. Hilgers, Eric J. Hamilton, and Zachary A. Viglianco (Nebraska Attorney General’s Office for Appellee)
Civil: Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act (UDJA)
Proceedings below: The Attorney General’s Office filed suit against the Nebraska Secretary of State under the UDJA alleging that §§ 47, 48, and 57 of LB 50 were unconstitutional. The district court found § 57 to be unconstitutional due to the retroactive application of §§ 47 and 48 and severed those portions from LB 50. On its own motion, the Court ordered that this case be transferred from the docket of the Court of Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following arguments on appeal: 1) Passage of L.B. 287 removes the Attorney General's power to bring suit, making this suit moot; 2) Summary judgment is proper when there is no issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; 3) A statute is presumed to be constitutional, and all reasonable doubts should be resolved in favor of its constitutionality; 4) LB 50, which deals with parole eligibility, does not commute any offender's sentence in violation of the Nebraska constitution; and 5) The legislature has constitutional authority to prescribe laws for the parole board to follow.