Opinion ID: 1657755
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: Before reaching the legal issues presented for review, it is the duty of an appellate court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter before it. Weeder v. Central Comm. College, 269 Neb. 114, 691 N.W.2d 508 (2005). In this case, the State argues that Smith's appeal should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because Smith did not timely appeal the order of August 9, 2001. In order to initiate an appeal, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment, decree, or final order. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-1912 (Cum. Supp. 2004). An in forma pauperis appeal is perfected when the appellant timely files a notice of appeal and an affidavit of poverty. State v. Jones, 264 Neb. 671, 650 N.W.2d 798 (2002). The State asserts that Smith failed to file a poverty affidavit with his notice of appeal within 30 days of the August 9, 2001, order, noting that the notice and accompanying paperwork were not all filed until September 28. However, in its October 6, 2003, order sustaining Smith's second motion for postconviction relief, the district court found that a poverty affidavit was indeed included with the notice of appeal filed by the clerk on September 10, 2001. Consequently, the court ordered that the judgment entered on August 9, denying Smith's first motion for postconviction relief, be reestablished to allow Smith to take a proper appeal from the order. The State asserts that there is no evidence to support the district court's order. However, the State did not appeal the October 6, 2003, decision of the district court. Therefore, unless the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to order the relief contained in the October 6 decision, the only issues properly before this court are those presented by the August 9, 2001, order, denying Smith's first motion for postconviction relief. A judgment entered by a court which lacks subject matter jurisdiction is void. It is the longstanding rule in Nebraska that such a void judgment may be attacked at any time in any proceeding. Kuhlmann v. City of Omaha, 251 Neb. 176, 556 N.W.2d 15 (1996). Jurisdiction of the subject matter means the authority to hear and determine both the class of actions to which the action before the court belongs and the particular question which it assumes to decide. In re Interest of Jeremy T., 257 Neb. 736, 600 N.W.2d 747 (1999). When a judgment is attacked in a manner other than by a proceeding in the original action to have it vacated, reversed, or modified, or by a proceeding in equity to prevent its enforcement, the attack is a collateral attack. In re Applications T-851 & T-852, 268 Neb. 620, 686 N.W.2d 360 (2004). Collateral attacks on previous proceedings are impermissible unless the attack is grounded upon the court's lack of jurisdiction over the parties or subject matter. In re Interest of Joshua M. et al., 251 Neb. 614, 558 N.W.2d 548 (1997). In this case, we must determine whether the district court had the subject matter jurisdiction to hear Smith's second motion for postconviction relief and to reestablish the August 9, 2001, order to allow Smith to file a proper appeal. This court has held that where a duty is placed upon a public officer to perform acts necessary to perfect an appeal, his or her failure to perform cannot be charged to the litigant or operate to defeat the appeal. Purdy v. City of York, 243 Neb. 593, 500 N.W.2d 841 (1993); Harte v. Gallagher, 186 Neb. 141, 181 N.W.2d 251 (1970). However, if the negligence of the appellant or his or her agent concurs with that of the court official, it precludes the appeal. See, Larson v. Wegner, 120 Neb. 449, 233 N.W. 253 (1930); Continental Building & Loan Association v. Mills, 44 Neb. 136, 62 N.W. 478 (1895). Consequently, if Smiths first postconviction appeal was lost solely due to the clerk's error, Smith would be entitled to seek reinstatement of that appeal. In addition, we have indicated that in a civil proceeding, the appropriate procedure for the appellant to use in such cases is a motion to reinstate the appeal, filed with the same court in which the case was adjudicated. See R.V.R.R. Co. v. McPherson, 12 Neb. 480, 11 N.W. 739 (1882). A postconviction proceeding is civil in nature. State v. Lotter, 266 Neb. 245, 664 N.W.2d 892 (2003). In McPherson, supra, the appellant instead filed a new petition in the district court, claiming the dismissal of her appeal was error; however, on appeal, this court considered it as a motion and found no error in the district court's decision to sustain the motion and reinstate the appeal. Cf. State v. McCracken, 260 Neb. 234, 615 N.W.2d 902 (2000) (district court may properly reinstate direct appeal as postconviction relief), abrogated on other grounds, State v. Thomas, 262 Neb. 985, 637 N.W.2d 632 (2002). Therefore, the appropriate procedure for securing a new appeal when an appeal is lost due to official negligence is to file a motion in the lower court and establish the factual basis for obtaining relief. In short, the district court in this case had the power to reinstate a civil appeal upon the motion of a litigant. Thus, the district court had the power to reinstate Smith's appeal upon a finding that his appeal was dismissed as untimely as a result of an error on the part of the court clerk. The court made such a finding in its order on October 6, 2003: It is clear from the record that [Smith] adamantly believes that there was an affidavit of poverty attached to the notice of appeal, which was filed on September 10, 2001. The notice of appeal includes a statement that the poverty affidavit is attached. The Clerk of the District Court of Dawson County, Nebraska, is less than adamant about the receipt of the poverty affidavit and is not clear about the telephone conversation between herself and [Smith]. It is clear that [Smith] mailed the documents for the appeal. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that included in those documents was an affidavit of poverty. Based on that finding, the court sustained Smith's second motion for postconviction relief and reestablished the judgment entered on August 9, 2001, allowing Smith to take a proper appeal therefrom. The district court had jurisdiction over the subject matter and the power to grant a reinstatement of the prior appeal; therefore, the State cannot attack that order in this appeal. The State did not perfect a timely appeal from the October 6, 2003, order, nor can that order be collaterally attacked in the present appeal. If the State believed the evidence was insufficient to support the order, or that a postconviction motion was an inappropriate vehicle for such relief, the State should have presented a timely appeal. Error, if any, committed by the trial court would have been an error in the exercise of jurisdiction, but it was not outside the subject matter jurisdiction of the court. See In re Interest of Jeremy T., 257 Neb. 736, 600 N.W.2d 747 (1999). Because the court had subject matter jurisdiction, the order granting a new appeal was not void ab initio. The State waived challenges to the court's finding that a poverty affidavit was included with the notice of appeal filed by the clerk on September 10, 2001, and to questions with respect to the court's exercise of jurisdiction, by failing to appeal the October 6, 2003, order. The only order before us is that of August 9, 2001, denying Smith's first motion for postconviction relief. As a result, it is not proper for us to here determine whether the district court's decision reestablishing the August 9 order was an appropriate exercise of jurisdiction or whether a second motion for postconviction relief was the correct method for Smith to challenge the Court of Appeal's dismissal of his initial appeal from the August 9 order.