Opinion ID: 2157991
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: modification of appeal bond

Text: Section 25-2730 governs the initial setting and subsequent modification of bonds in criminal appeals from county to district court. The statute provides in pertinent part: (3) ... Execution of a sentence to a period of confinement shall be suspended only if (a) the county court, in its discretion, allows the defendant to continue at liberty under the prior recognizance or bail or (b) the defendant enters into a written recognizance to the State of Nebraska, with surety or sureties approved by the county court or with a cash bond, filed with the clerk of the county court. The condition of the recognizance shall be that the defendant will prosecute the appeal without delay and abide and perform the judgment and sentence of the district court. Upon the filing of the notice of appeal, the county court shall fix the amount of the recognizance or cash bond, which shall be a reasonable amount. The cash bond shall be returned upon the fulfillment of the conditions of the bond. . . . . (6) In any case, the district court, on motion after notice and hearing and upon such terms as justice shall require, may stay any order or judgment appealed from, order a renewal or additional surety of an undertaking, or order the amount of the undertaking or recognizance increased or decreased. The action of the district court shall be certified by the clerk to the clerk of the county court. The State does not question that the district court was authorized by § 25-2730(6) to amend the terms of Griffin's bond. However, it contends that the statute does not permit the district court to alter the form of the bond from a cash or surety bond specified in § 25-2730(3) to a personal recognizance bond with no approved surety. There is no prior case law interpreting § 25-2730. Whether the statute permits the bond reduction ordered by the district court is an issue of statutory interpretation for which we are required to make an independent conclusion. See, State v. Jonusas, supra ; State v. Pathod, supra . We conclude that the plain meaning of that portion of § 25-2730(6) which authorizes the district court to order the amount of the undertaking . . . increased or decreased permitted the reduction of the appeal bond in this case to a recognizance bond of $10,000 secured by the signature of [Griffin]. This is consistent with the general discretion of the district court to prescribe the amount and conditions of an appeal bond in a criminal case. See State v. Dawn, 246 Neb. 384, 519 N.W.2d 249 (1994).