Case Title: State v. Moore

Citation: 226 Neb. 347, 411 N.W.2d 345

Docket Number: 

State: nebraska

Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

Date: 1987-08-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
411 N.W.2d 345 (1987) 226 Neb. 347 STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Melvin L. MOORE, Appellant. No. 86-1045. Supreme Court of Nebraska. August 28, 1987. *347 Dorothy A. Walker of Mowbray, Chapin & Walker, P.C., for appellant. Norman Langemach, Jr., Lincoln City Prosecutor, for appellee. BOSLAUGH, WHITE, HASTINGS, CAPORALE, SHANAHAN, and GRANT, JJ., and COLWELL, District Judge, Retired. SHANAHAN, Justice. Melvin L. Moore appeals his convictions for disturbing the peace and quiet of others, a violation of Lincoln Mun. Code § 9.52.030 (1984), and resisting arrest, a violation of Lincoln Mun. Code § 9.12.040 (1984). We affirm. At approximately 1 a.m. on July 29, 1986, Lincoln Police Officer Don L. Marti responded to a complaint of a disturbance at a house identified as 615 South 21st Street, in a Lincoln residential neighborhood. On arrival at the scene, Marti initially stopped his cruiser 75 to 100 feet away from the house and heard noise coming from the house's front yard, that is, people talking and laughing very loudly in what Officer Marti characterized as "party noise." Marti then stopped his cruiser on the street in front of the house, but could not see the individuals who were making the noise, since they were in a darkened part of the yard. When he had stopped his cruiser, Officer Marti shined the cruiser's spotlight on the front of the house, lighting the area where the individuals were standing, and then observed four males in the front yard, who were drinking from some unidentifiable type of beverage bottles. As Officer Marti was getting out of his cruiser, Moore ran up to the cruiser and yelled, "What the fuck are you doing here? You've got no business here. Get the fuck out of here." Officer Marti testified that Moore Moore continued "yelling and screaming" and "flailing his arms around" as Officer Lyle A. Lacy, another Lincoln policeman dispatched on the disturbance call, arrived at the scene. Officer Lacy tried to calm Moore and asked him to move away from Officer Marti so that Officer Lacy could speak with Moore. Officer Lacy attempted to move Moore away from Officer Marti on at least three occasions, but Moore kept running back to Officer Marti, yelling at him and poking his finger in *348 Marti's face. Officer Marti described the incident: Officer Lacy testified that Officer Marti "told Mr. Moore he was under arrest for disturbing the peace." Immediately after such statement to Moore, "Officer Marti put his hand out and touched Mr. Moore on the arm," as testified by Officer Lacy. Both officers were in police uniform during their contact with Moore. After finding Moore guilty of disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, the trial court sentenced Moore to pay fines of $10 and $75, respectively, on the convictions. On appeal to the district court for Lancaster County, Moore's convictions and sentences were affirmed. Moore appeals his convictions to this court, assigning as error and arguing that the municipal ordinances under which he was convicted are constitutionally invalid; that his conviction for resisting arrest was contrary to the Nebraska statutory scheme governing justification for use of force; that his conviction for disturbing the peace was based solely upon speech which is protected by the 1st and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution; and that there was insufficient evidence as a matter of law to sustain his convictions beyond a reasonable doubt. While Moore claims that the municipal ordinances under which he was convicted are unconstitutional, the question of constitutionality of those ordinances was not presented to the trial court and, therefore, will not be considered on appeal. "Except in the most unusual of cases, for a question of constitutionality to be considered on appeal, it must have been properly raised in the trial court. If not so raised, it will be considered to have been waived." State v. Brand, 219 Neb. 402, 404, 363 N.W.2d 516, 518 (1985). See, also, State v. Fleming, 223 Neb. 169, 388 N.W.2d 497 (1986); State v. Hunter, 219 Neb. 850, 367 N.W.2d 122 (1985); State v. Kaiser, 218 Neb. 556, 356 N.W.2d 890 (1984). Although Moore did not question the constitutionality of the ordinances during his trial, Moore contends that the constitutionality issue was raised during his appeal to the district court and, therefore, should be addressed by this court. A similar contention was rejected in State v. Kaiser, supra, where we stated at 558, 356 N.W.2d at 892: (Citations omitted.) See, also, State v. Thompson, 224 Neb. 922, 402 N.W.2d 271 (1987); State v. Painter, 224 Neb. 905, 402 N.W.2d 677 (1987); State v. Daniels, 224 Neb. 264, 397 N.W.2d 631 (1986); State v. Schroder, 218 Neb. 860, 359 N.W.2d 799 (1984). Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-1412 (Reissue 1985) states in part: Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-1409 (Reissue 1985) states in part: Moore argues that Officer Marti initiated the use of force by grabbing Moore's arm, that Officer Marti did not advise Moore as to the reason for his arrest, and that the use of force in law enforcement is justifiable only if the arrest is made under a warrant. Moore's arguments are unpersuasive. Officer Marti's contact with Moore consisted of official restraint in connection with the announced arrest for disturbing the peace and prevention of Moore's departure from Marti, the arresting officer. Any of Officer Marti's additional physical contact with Moore was, under the circumstances, force justifiable in defense of Moore's assault on the officer. Although Officer Marti did not have an arrest warrant for Moore, the arrest of Moore was lawful. State v. Roggenkamp, 224 Neb. 914, 919, 402 N.W.2d 682, 686 (1987). On the facts known to Officer Marti at the time of the arrest, there was probable cause to believe that Moore had committed the offense of disturbing the peace. Officer Marti's use of force was justified and authorized under § 28-1412. Moore was informed of the reason for Officer Marti's presence at the scene and was later informed of the reason for the arrest by Officer Marti. Also, under the circumstances presented in this case, the force used by Moore was clearly prohibited by § 28-1409(2), inasmuch as Moore knew that the arrest was being made by a peace officer. Moore's assignment of error regarding Officer Marti's lack of justification for use of force and justification for Moore's use of force is without merit. Moore argues that his conviction for disturbing the peace was based solely upon speech which is protected by the 1st and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Nothing in the record supports Moore's claim that he was arrested for disturbing the peace solely as the result of his using the word "fuck" while yelling at Officer Marti. We need not, and do not, decide *350 whether Moore's use of such word under the circumstances was constitutionally protected speech. The record clearly shows that the basis for Moore's arrest for disturbing the peace was his conduct in the presence of Officer Marti, such as yelling at, threatening, and violently arguing with the officer. Moore's assignment of error concerning a claim of protected speech has no merit. Moore's final assignment of error is that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. State v. Schroder, 218 Neb. 860, 869-70, 359 N.W.2d 799, 806 (1984). There is sufficient evidence to sustain Moore's convictions, and, therefore, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. AFFIRMED.