Opinion ID: 2116540
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 65

Heading: motion for remand

Text: After oral argument, Lotter filed a motion to remand for resentencing after adoption of 1998 Neb. Laws, L.B. 422. Section 29-2523(1)(b) and (h), which was amended by L.B. 422, effective July 15, 1998, now states: (b) The murder was committed in an effort to conceal the commission of a crime, or to conceal the identity of the perpetrator of such crime; .... (h) The murder was committed knowingly to disrupt or hinder the lawful exercise of any governmental function or the enforcement of the laws.... (The words stricken have been deleted and the words underlined have been added.) Lotter was sentenced prior to the effective date of the amendment. Accordingly, Lotter filed a motion asking this court to remand the instant cause for resentencing in accordance with the amendments. This court has consistently held that where a criminal statute is amended by mitigating the punishment, after the commission of a prohibited act but before final judgment, the punishment is that provided by the amendatory act unless the Legislature has specifi[ed] otherwise. (Emphasis in original.) State v. Schrein, 247 Neb. 256, 258, 526 N.W.2d 420, 421 (1995). See, also, State v. Randolph, 186 Neb. 297, 183 N.W.2d 225 (1971). Furthermore, this court has held that a defendant's sentence and conviction become a final judgment on the date that this court enters its mandate concerning a defendant's direct appeal. State v. Schrein, supra ; State v. Warner, 192 Neb. 438, 222 N.W.2d 292 (1974). Thus, the question is whether the amendments to § 29-2523 mitigate the punishment imposed. Lotter argues that the amendments have limited the application of subsections (1)(b) and (1)(h) to a class of homicides more narrow than at the time Lotter was sentenced. If the applicable scope of the aggravating circumstances has indeed narrowed, Lotter's actions may no longer fit within the circumstances' purview, rendering them inapplicable. If subsections (1)(b) and (1)(h) have been rendered inapplicable, Lotter's sentence would have to be reweighed, possibly resulting in the reduction of his death sentence to a life sentence, which would clearly mitigate his punishment. Therefore, to determine whether § 29-2523 has been amended to mitigate the punishment, we must determine whether the amendments narrowed the scope of the statute's applicability.