Court Opinion

ID: 9656278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 19:45:19.281742+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:31.114457
License: Public Domain

Boslaugh, J.,
dissenting.
A legislative act which is complete in itself, and is repugnant to or in conflict with a prior law, repeals the prior law by implication to the extent of the repugnancy or conflict. American Fed. S., C. & M. Emp. v. County of Lancaster, 200 Neb. 301, 263 N.W.2d 471 (1978).
The Nebraska Criminal Code, which was enacted in 1977, was a comprehensive revision of Nebraska criminal laws. See L.R. 39, 80th Leg., 1969 Leg. J. 1589 (Apr. 22, 1969). See, also, Committee Statements, L.B. 38, L.B. 39, L.B. 40, and L.B. 41, Judiciary Committee, 85th Leg., 1st Sess. (Feb. 2, 1977).
L.B. 38,1977 Neb. Laws, which enacted the code, was an act complete in itself. It contains provisions defining and punishing *126manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-305 and 28-306 (Reissue 1979).
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 39-669.20 (Reissue 1984), last amended in 1972, provides that the penalty for manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle or for motor vehicle homicide shall be a fine of not to exceed $500, imprisonment in the county jail for not to exceed 6 months, or both. Sections 28-305 and 28-306 conflict with § 39-669.20, and are repugnant to it, in that they prescribe a greater maximum penalty for manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide.
The opinion of the court seeks to avoid this conflict by construing § 39-669.20 to be a special statute and § 28-305 a general statute. This, of course, does not avoid the conflict between §§ 28-306 and 39-669.20 because both sections relate to the same crime, motor vehicle homicide. It seems obvious that § 28-306 repealed by implication the provisions in § 39-669.20 relating to motor vehicle homicide because the sections prescribe different penalties for the same crime.
If the majority opinion is correct, the maximum penalty for manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle now is less than the maximum penalty for motor vehicle homicide under the 1977 criminal code. I do not believe the Legislature intended such a result.
Hastings, J., joins in this dissent.