Opinion ID: 2038810
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: amendment of sentence

Text: Perry claims that the district court erred in not granting him postconviction relief because he was re-sentenced without being offered an opportunity for allocution or to present evidence to the court. Perry was sentenced by the trial court on April 5, 1994. On August 17, after the Court of Appeals had dismissed his direct appeal, Perry filed a motion for review of his sentence. Perry argued in the motion that his sentence for first degree sexual assault on a child was unconstitutional because it was based on a sentencing guideline that became effective on September 9, 1993. Since the crimes Perry was convicted of occurred before that date and the new law required a more lengthy minimum sentence, Perry sought the benefit of being sentenced under the earlier law. On July 1, 1996, the trial court denied Perry's motion but ordered the clerk of the court to issue an amended commitment. Perry's sentence for first degree sexual assault on a child was amended from 40 to 42 years' imprisonment to 200 months' to 42 years' imprisonment. The sentences Perry received for his convictions on two counts of sexual assault of a child were not affected by the trial court's order. On appeal, Perry argues that the district court erred in failing to grant him postconviction relief based on the trial court's alleged error in issuing its July 1, 1996, order. We do not reach the merits of Perry's argument regarding the amendment of his sentence because this is an issue that could have been raised via a direct appeal. The three types of final orders which may be reviewed on appeal under the provisions of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25-1902 (Reissue 1995) are (1) an order which affects a substantial right in an action and which in effect determines the action and prevents a judgment, (2) an order affecting a substantial right made during a special proceeding, and (3) an order affecting a substantial right made on summary application in an action after a judgment is rendered. State v. Bronson, 267 Neb. 103, 672 N.W.2d 244 (2003). In the case at bar, judgment was rendered with the entry of sentence on April 5, 1994. Accordingly, the trial court's July 1, 1996, order was a final, appealable order, since it affected a substantial right made on summary application in an action after judgment was rendered. Perry did not file a direct appeal from this order. This assignment of error concerns an issue that could have been raised on direct appeal, and Perry is not entitled to postconviction relief on this issue. A motion for postconviction relief cannot be used to secure review of issues which were or could have been litigated on direct appeal. State v. Curtright, 262 Neb. 975, 637 N.W.2d 599 (2002); State v. Hess, 261 Neb. 368, 622 N.W.2d 891 (2001).