Opinion ID: 1912613
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 28

Heading: Deference Due Legislature

Text: Legislatures are not required to select the least severe penalty possible, so long as the penalty selected is not cruelly inhumane or disproportionate to the crime. [186] Regarding statutory punishments, however, on three occasions we have overstated the Legislature's authority under the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. We stated that the constitutional provision preventing cruel and unusual punishment was not intended to abridge the Legislature's power to select such punishment as it deems most effective in the suppression of crime. [187] This statement is clearly too broad. Its roots can be traced to case law preceding the U.S. Supreme Court's application in 1962 of the 8th Amendment to the states through the 14th Amendment. [188] As noted, the Supreme Court has specifically held that the Eighth Amendment is a restraint upon the exercise of legislative power, [189] as is the Nebraska Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. More recently, however, we have stated: `The Legislature determines the nature of the penalty imposed, and so long as that determination is consistent with the Constitution, it will not be disturbed by the courts on review.' [190] When we review challenges to criminal statutes, we presume that the statutes are constitutional. [191] And the burden to clearly show that a statute is unconstitutional rests upon the challenger. [192] Yet presumptions can be overcome, and the Legislature cannot establish a method of execution that offends the constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment.