Opinion ID: 2226627
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: York County contends that the department's appeal to the Court of Appeals was not proper because §§ 43-287.01 through 43-287.06 require review by a juvenile review panel within 10 days of the disposition. When a jurisdictional question does not involve a factual dispute, its determination is a matter of law, which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion independent from the decisions made by the lower courts. City of Lincoln v. Twin Platte NRD, 250 Neb. 452, 551 N.W.2d 6 (1996); In re Interest of Noelle F. & Sarah F., 249 Neb. 628, 544 N.W.2d 509 (1996). In addition, statutory interpretation is a matter of law in connection with which an appellate court has an obligation to reach an independent, correct conclusion irrespective of the determination made by the court below. Village of Winside v. Jackson, 250 Neb. 851, 553 N.W.2d 476 (1996); In re Interest of Aaron K., 250 Neb. 489, 550 N.W.2d 13 (1996). Section 43-287.03 provides for the review of contested dispositional plans by a juvenile review panel as follows: A juvenile review panel shall review a disposition of a court when the court makes an order directing the implementation of a plan different from the plan prepared by the Department of Social Services concerning the care, placement, or services to be provided to the juvenile and the department or any other party believes that the court's order is not in the best interests of the juvenile. Moreover, § 43-287.04 provides in part the procedural requirements for obtaining the review of the juvenile review panel: If the Department of Social Services or any other party desires to have a disposition described in section 43-287.03 reviewed, the department or other party shall have ten days after disposition by the court to file a request for review by a juvenile review panel. We have held that §§ 43-287.01 through 43-287.06 provide the sole method of reviewing juvenile court dispositional orders falling within the ambit of the expedited appeal process therein specified. In re Interest of Alex T. et al., 248 Neb. 899, 540 N.W.2d 310 (1995); In re Interest of M.J.B., 242 Neb. 671, 496 N.W.2d 495 (1993). Thus, the issue to be decided is whether an appeal must be taken to a juvenile review panel in cases in which the department has not yet presented a dispositional plan to the court. In construing these statutes, we are bound by the rule that in discerning the meaning of a statute, we must determine and give effect to the purpose and intent of the Legislature as ascertained from the entire language of the statute considered in its plain, ordinary, and popular sense, it being our duty to discover, if possible, the Legislature's intent from the language of the statute itself. Buffalo County v. Kizzier, 250 Neb. 180, 548 N.W.2d 757 (1996); In re Interest of M.J.B., supra . In the absence of anything indicating to the contrary, statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning; when the words of a statute are plain, direct, and unambiguous, no interpretation is necessary or will be indulged to ascertain their meaning. Seevers v. Potter, 248 Neb. 621, 537 N.W.2d 505 (1995); In re Interest of M.J.B., supra . Based on the provisions of § 43-287.03, we have held that a two-part, disjunctive test must be applied to determine whether an expedited review is required. First, the order must implement a different plan than that proposed by the department. Second, there must exist a belief in the department that the court-ordered plan is not in the best interests of the juvenile. See In re Interest of M.J.B., supra . In the instant case, the juvenile court had simply placed Jeffrey in the custody of the department for foster care placement pending a dispositional hearing and ordered the department to prepare a case plan prior to the dispositional hearing. We obviously conclude that because the department had not yet presented a plan to the juvenile court, the juvenile court's order could not have implemented a different plan. Thus, the first prong of the test is not met. Consequently, we conclude that the provisions for expedited review by a juvenile review panel were not triggered, and the Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to determine the appeal.