S-21-0011 State of Nebraska v. Kutter Robertson (Appellant)
Sarpy County District Court, Hon. George A. Thompson
Attorneys: April O’Loughlin (Sarpy County Public Defender’s Office, for Appellant); Stacy M. Foust (Office of the Attorney General, for Appellee)
Criminal: First-degree sexual assault; Speedy trial
Proceedings below: The district court denied Appellant’s motion for absolute discharge in its entirety. The district court found that Appellant had waived his statutory right to a speedy trial under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207(4)(b) because he was granted a continuance that extended the trial date beyond the statutory six-month period. Alternatively, the court excluded a total of 521 days and found that Appellant’s statutory right to a speedy trial had not been violated since the State still had time to bring him to trial. The court excluded 112 of the 521 days under § 29-1207(4)(f) for good cause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Regarding Appellant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial, the court found that none of the factors weighed in Appellant’s favor.
Issues on appeal: Whether 1) Appellant is entitled to an absolute discharge where the district court denied the Appellant’s motion to discharge in violation of speedy trial rights under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207 and § 29-1208; 2) the court improperly established good cause sua sponte in violation of Nebraska case law; 3) the State can retroactively reopen a closed record for the purpose of introducing untimely evidence; 4) the State has failed in its burden to establish good cause pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207; 5) under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207, speedy trial has run and the Appellant is entitled to an absolute discharge; and 6) the Appellant’s constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated and the Appellant is entitled to an absolute discharge.