Opinion ID: 2768591
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: nature of the decision

Text: The State appeals from the district court’s judgment that determined L.B. 1161,1 which the Legislature passed in 2012, was unconstitutional. Neb. Const. art. V, § 2, in relevant part, requires that a supermajority of this court’s members concur before it can strike down legislation as unconstitutional: “No legislative act shall be held unconstitutional except by the concurrence of five judges.” Four judges of this court have determined that the appellees (the landowners), who challenged the constitutionality of L.B. 1161, have standing to raise this issue and that the legislation is unconstitutional. Three judges of this court conclude that the landowners lacked standing and decline to exercise their option to address the constitutional issues. The majority’s opinion that the landowners have standing controls that issue. But because there are not five judges of this court voting on the constitutionality of L.B. 1161, the legislation must stand by default. Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s judgment. The following judges are of the opinion that the landowners have standing and that the challenged legislation is unconstitutional: Justices Connolly, McCormack, and Miller-Lerman, and Judge Riedmann.