S-23-0818 State of Nebraska (Appellee) v. Rieker (Appellant)
Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County, Judge Kevin R. McManaman
Attorneys: Carlos Monzon (Monzon, Guerra, & Chipman for Appellant) and Gerald R. Soucie (Attorney at Law for Appellant) and Melissa Vincent (Assistant Attorney General for Appellee)
Criminal: Third-degree assault and false reporting
Proceedings below: After Appellant was convicted of third-degree assault and false reporting, he was sentenced to eighteen (18) months of probation. Appellant filed a Petition to Bypass the Court of Appeals, which the Court sustained and ordered that this case be transferred from the docket of the Court to Appeals to its docket.
Issues: Appellant makes the following assignments of error: 1) The Lancaster County District Court erred in affirming Mr. Rieker’s conviction of misdemeanor assault because as a matter of law the State failed to present evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rieker’s use of force towards J.N. did not constitute an absolute defense of property as defined by Nebraska statutes, to wit; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1411; 2) The Lancaster County District Court erred in affirming Mr. Rieker’s conviction of false information because as a matter of law there was insufficient evidence that he “furnished material information he knew to be false to any peace officer or other official with the intent . . . to impede the investigation of an actual criminal matter” as defined by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-907 (1); and 3) The Lancaster County District Court erred as a matter of law in failing to reverse the decision in the one judge opinion in Lancaster County District CR 22-95 reversing the granting the motion to suppress based on the governments violation of Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967) and Kastigar v United States, 406 U.S. 441 (1972) docketed at CR 22 - 95 when presented with different testimony at the actual trial and which was contrary to Nebraska law as set forth in State v. Weichman, 292 Neb. 227, 871 N.W.2d 768 (2015).