Opinion ID: 6220976
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: County Court Trial Proceedings The State charged Johnson with bigamy, contending that when he married Natalie Forney he was already married to Shelley Petersen. Defense counsel argued that Johnson’s marriage to Petersen was not a valid marriage because it did not comply with statutes in Nebraska or Texas. The county court held a bench trial, at which the parties stipulated to the exhibits, including an exhibit setting forth what the witnesses would testify to, if called. Next, we summarize that evidence. On June 29, 2015, Johnson and Petersen completed a marriage worksheet at the Lancaster County clerk’s office in Nebraska and paid the requisite fee. Tory Carkoski, a front desk clerk at the Lancaster County clerk’s office, watched Johnson and Petersen sign a Nebraska marriage license and notarized their signatures. On July 4, 2015, Johnson’s sister, an ordained minister, performed a wedding ceremony for Johnson and Petersen in Texas. Johnson’s sister signed a “Keepsake Marriage Certificate,” but she did not sign or return the Nebraska marriage license. Johnson’s sister claimed that she later threw away the marriage license at Johnson’s request. Johnson and Petersen returned to Nebraska and resided together. They had an “on again - off again relationship.” Carkoski recalled having repeated and frequent contact with the couple within a few weeks of producing the June 29, 2015, marriage license for them. During that time, Petersen 1 See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-701(1) (Reissue 2016). - 530 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. JOHNSON Cite as 310 Neb. 527 called at least 10 times to inquire whether the marriage license had been returned. Petersen informed Carkoski that although she was able to change her surname with the Social Security Administration using the keepsake marriage certificate, she wanted a certified copy of the license in order to “change her information” with the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. During this timeframe, Johnson told Carkoski that he did not want to be married and inquired how to “prevent the marriage from going through.” Carkoski responded that “if they had already filled out the documentation and had the ceremony, they were married.” In late 2016 or early 2017, Carkoski notified the records administrator of the Lancaster County clerk’s office that the marriage license between Johnson and Petersen had not been filed. When the records administrator determined that no marriage license was filed for the 2015 marriage, she called Johnson’s sister and informed her that a replacement marriage license would be sent which needed to be signed and returned. Johnson and Petersen returned to the Lancaster County clerk’s office, signed a copy of the replacement marriage license, and had Carkoski notarize their signatures. Subsequently, the marriage license was returned and filed with the Lancaster County clerk’s office in January 2017. The license contained signatures of Johnson’s sister and two witnesses. It stated that Johnson and Petersen were married on July 4, 2015, in Lancaster County, Nebraska. At some point, possibly as late as May 2018, Johnson moved out of the residence he shared with Petersen. Screenshots of text messages between them, some of which were sent in September, showed that Johnson referred to himself as Petersen’s husband and to her as his wife. On November 5, 2018, Carkoski received a marriage worksheet for Johnson and Forney. On November 16, a signed marriage license was filed with the Lancaster County clerk’s office showing that Johnson married Forney in Lancaster County on November 15. - 531 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. JOHNSON Cite as 310 Neb. 527 In 2019, Petersen attempted to file her income taxes as married filing jointly with Johnson. The Internal Revenue Service notified her that she could not do so because Johnson had filed income taxes as married filing jointly with Forney. Petersen notified the police department, and an investigation uncovered two marriage certificates on file at the Lancaster County clerk’s office but no intervening divorce. When a police officer spoke with Johnson, he said that he and Petersen were going to get married but never did. At the trial’s conclusion, the county court took the matter under advisement to allow the parties to file briefs, which are not in our record. The court later convicted Johnson and subsequently imposed a sentence of 30 days in jail. Appeal to District Court Johnson appealed to the district court, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Citing Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-104 (Reissue 2016), the district court stated that there were only two requirements for a valid marriage under Nebraska law: a marriage license and solemnization of the marriage by a person authorized by law to solemnize marriages. The court stated that “[t]he evidence unequivocally validates [Johnson’s] marriage to [Petersen]” and affirmed Johnson’s conviction. Johnson then appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals. We later granted the State’s petition to bypass review by the Court of Appeals. 2 ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR Johnson assigns that the district court erred in affirming the county court’s finding that the State proved him guilty of bigamy beyond a reasonable doubt.