Opinion ID: 6317564
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: Brandon L. Blake presents a new direct appeal from his plea-based conviction and his sentence for attempted sexual assault in case No. CR 19-527. Blake’s appellate counsel is different from his trial counsel. 1. Postconviction Proceedings In pro se motions filed February 11, 2020, Blake alleged his plea in case No. CR 19-527 was the result of ineffective assist­ ance, that counsel was ineffective in failing to present mitigating evidence at sentencing relating to Blake’s mental health, and that his attorney denied him his right to effective assistance of counsel by refusing his request to file a direct appeal. He asked for appointment of counsel. The State summarized these allegations as presenting two claims: whether counsel was ineffective for failing to uncover and present evidence of Blake’s mental health and whether counsel denied Blake his right to a direct appeal. The State argued that the trial record affirmatively showed trial counsel was not ineffective on the first claim but that it was insufficient to determine the second claim. Following a hearing, the court ordered, on June 12, 2020, that counsel be appointed for Blake with respect to his claim that he was deprived of his direct appeal. The court scheduled - 774 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 a limited evidentiary hearing on that claim. The court reserved its ruling on Blake’s other ineffective assistance claim and reserved its ruling on a motion by the State to deny that claim without an evidentiary hearing. The evidentiary hearing on the claim for a new direct appeal was held on August 19, 2020. At the hearing, Blake’s postconviction counsel submitted the deposition of trial counsel, who answered questions pertaining to Blake’s advisement of his right to appeal and any request made by Blake to appeal in case No. CR 19-527. After the hearing, the court ruled, on October 2, 2020, that Blake’s trial counsel was deficient in denying Blake his right to a direct appeal, of which Blake had not been advised. The court granted as relief a new direct appeal. The court then “denied” the remaining issues raised by Blake’s motion for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing. On October 27, 2020, Blake timely filed with the district court his notice of appeal for purposes of his new direct appeal; this notice was filed within 30 days after the court’s order granting such postconviction relief. 2 Blake filed with the district court his application to proceed in forma pauperis on October 27, also within 30 days after the order. Blake filed with the district court his poverty affidavit on October 30, within 30 days after the order. The affidavit reflects it was signed by Blake and notarized on July 2, which was 117 days before Blake filed his notice of appeal. The State did not file an objection under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2301.02 (Reissue 2016), raising the staleness of the poverty affidavit or any other issue. The district court granted Blake’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis, issuing an order on October 30, stating that Blake may proceed with his appeal in forma pauperis, with all associated costs to be borne by Lancaster County. In November 2020, the Nebraska Court of Appeals granted the State’s motion to summarily dismiss Blake’s new direct appeal based on our appellate rule, § 2-101(B)(4): 2 See State v. Murphy, 15 Neb. App. 398, 727 N.W.2d 730 (2007). - 775 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 The clerk of the district court shall within 2 business days of receipt of a notice of appeal send the following items to the Clerk of the Supreme Court: .... (4) [A] copy of the application to proceed in forma pauperis and accompanying poverty affidavit which has been executed no more than 45 days prior to the filing of notice of appeal[.] The Court of Appeals noted that Blake’s affidavit was executed more than 45 days before the filing of the notice of appeal. Another poverty affidavit was filed on December 4, which was executed by Blake on November 21. In February 2021, the Court of Appeals granted Blake’s motion for rehearing. In his brief in support of the motion, he argued that the appellate rule referring to the timing of the execution of the poverty affidavit was not jurisdictional, because such timing requirement for execution is found nowhere in the statutes governing appellate jurisdiction and the right of appeal in Nebraska is purely statutory. The Court of Appeals reinstated Blake’s new direct appeal and directed the parties to brief the question of jurisdiction. Pursuant to our authority to regulate the dockets of the appellate courts, we moved the appeal to our docket. 2. Underlying Proceedings The record shows that Blake was originally charged in case No. CR 19-527 with first degree sexual assault, in violation of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-319(1)(a) and (b) (Reissue 2016), with a sentencing range of 1 to 50 years’ imprisonment. The charge stemmed from an incident that occurred between May 24, 2012, and February 13, 2013, in which Blake subjected the victim to sexual penetration without the victim’s consent or when Blake knew or should have known the victim was mentally or physically incapable of resisting or appraising the nature of his conduct. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the charge was reduced to attempted first degree sexual assault, in violation of - 776 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 § 28-319(1)(c) and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-201(4)(b) (Cum. Supp. 2014), with a sentencing range of 0 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The amended information for case No. CR 19-527 is not in the transcript. Under the plea agreement, Blake also agreed to plead no contest in case No. CR 19-914 to an assault charge stemming from an incident while in jail. And the State agreed to dismiss a second charge for a different assault Blake had committed while in jail. (a) Factual Basis and Acceptance of Plea The factual basis for the plea in case No. CR 19-527 described that the victim, while he was in fifth or sixth grade, attended school with Blake, who at the time was in a high school grade. They were friends. One day at lunchtime, Blake threatened the victim to make him stay outside. Blake and the victim then went to a nearby wooded area, where Blake told the victim to pull down his pants and bend over. The victim complied, Blake put his penis in the victim’s anus, and afterward, Blake used a pocketknife to make several shallow cuts on the victim’s back. Blake told the victim he would kill him if he told anyone what Blake had done. A staff member found the two in the wooded area after they were fully dressed. Both acted as if nothing was wrong. When the sexual assault was finally disclosed in 2018, the scars on the victim’s back were still visible. The victim and Blake exchanged correspondence while Blake was in jail between October 2018 and January 2019, in which the victim confronted Blake about the assault and Blake apologized. In one letter, Blake wrote, “I had a knife to make you give me what I wanted. It was wrong, I see that now but then I didn’t care who I hurt as long as I got what I wanted.” Blake admitted to sending the letters. Before accepting the pleas, the court reviewed with Blake in detail each prescription medication he was taking. Blake affirmed that he understood the charges and that defense - 777 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 counsel had discussed with him all the possible defenses he might have if he were to instead go to trial. Blake stated that he believed his attorney was competent and that he was satisfied with the job she had been doing. Following a plea colloquy, the court accepted Blake’s pleas. (b) Sentencing The presentence investigation (PSI) report considered by the court prior to sentencing was 400 pages. It showed as Blake’s adult criminal history a recent conviction in another case, case No. CR 18-846, for attempted first degree sexual assault, the conviction for assault in case No. CR 19-914 that was part of the plea bargain agreement, two prior convictions for third degree assault, and a conviction for disturbing the peace. Blake had earned his diploma through the GED program and completed a “DBT skills program” while incarcerated. A review of misconduct reports showed Blake “routinely violates the rules.” Blake described himself as a “sex addict.” However, he denied having committed the attempted sexual assault for which he was being sentenced. The PSI report demonstrated that Blake has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, adolescent antisocial behavior, mood disorder, “ADHD,” borderline intellectual functioning, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophreniform disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. An evaluation completed in November 2019 showed Blake was in the “very high or high-risk range” to reoffend. The PSI report showed Blake had become a state ward at the age of 9. Blake reported he was physically abused by his father and had experienced sexual abuse in some of his ­out-of-home placements. Before his removal from his parents’ home, Blake “walked in on [his parents] having sex ‘all the time,’” because they did not lock their door and he did not have his own room. In his placements as a juvenile, Blake had a history of inappropriate sexual behavior toward younger peers. This - 778 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 included stealing underwear, “grooming,” writing inappropriate letters, attempting to be alone with younger peers, and attempting to put his penis through vent holes between rooms. This behavior included an incident where he smeared feces in the shower so it would drop onto a younger peer’s head. Blake was hospitalized on numerous occasions for mental health reasons. His intelligence quotient is in the average range. At the sentencing hearing held in December 2019, defense counsel affirmed that she had reviewed the PSI report and stated that she was not aware of any additions, corrections, or deletions that needed to be made to the report. Blake stated that he was given the opportunity to discuss the PSI report with defense counsel and did not require any more time to do so. He did not know of anything that needed to be added, corrected, or taken out of the report. Defense counsel pointed out that Blake was only 25 years old at the time of sentencing and was 18 years old at the time of the crime. Defense counsel acknowledged that Blake was evaluated to be at a high risk to reoffend, but pointed out that he was still a young person and had been working with mental health services. Defense counsel highlighted that the PSI report showed Blake was involved with the Department of Health and Human Services throughout his youth, “has suffered from a number of mental health issues,” and was making efforts to improve by “working with the mental health people in the Lincoln Correctional Center on his issues.” The State asked the court to consider that a weapon and the use of force was a part of the crime under consideration. Additionally, the State asked the court to take into account that the victim was only 11 or 12 years old when Blake attempted to sexually assault him. On December 6, 2019, the court sentenced Blake to 9 to 14 years’ imprisonment, to be served consecutively to the sentence under case No. CR 19-914 of 18 to 36 months’ imprisonment and any other sentence previously imposed. The court explained that imprisonment was necessary for the protection - 779 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 310 Nebraska Reports STATE v. BLAKE Cite as 310 Neb. 769 of the public because the risk is substantial that, during any period of probation, Blake would engage in additional criminal conduct. Further, a lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of his crimes and promote disrespect for the law. (c) Prior Conviction in Case No. CR 18-846 Trial counsel did not file a direct appeal. At the evidentiary hearing on Blake’s postconviction motion seeking a new direct appeal for case No. CR 19-527, the court received into evidence the orders, minute entries, and transcription of the hearings in case No. CR 18-846, Blake’s prior plea-based conviction of attempted first degree sexual assault. He entered his plea in case No. CR 18-846 approximately 9 months before he entered his plea in case No. CR 19-527. The court in case No. CR 18-846 had conducted a competency hearing before accepting Blake’s plea. The court determined Blake to be competent. The discussion at the hearing reflects that the psychological examiner found Blake to be competent and that both Blake and his attorney assured the court of his competency. The factual basis for the plea consisted of reports by the victim, who was 14 years old at the time, that between January and March 2018, Blake had penile-vaginal intercourse with the victim five or six times. The victim described that she was not comfortable having intercourse with Blake but that she did not stop him because she was scared. During one of the encounters, the victim’s 14-year-old friend was in the room. In April 2018, the victim began receiving threats from Blake through social media. The court sentenced Blake to 13 to 18 years’ imprisonment.