Court Opinion

ID: 9675159
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:43:38.368648+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:15:24.220483
License: Public Domain

Fahrnbruch, J.,
concurring.
Although I vote for the majority opinion, I, nevertheless, write separately to address some issues raised by the dissenting opinions.
The dissenters correctly contend that there are only statutory crimes. Even so, the elements of statutory crimes are interpreted by common law. One dissenter acknowledges this by stating: “Because there are no common-law crimes in this state, we must resort to only common-law definitions where general terms are used to designate crime.”
The majority does not chart new ground by finding a common-law element in a statutory crime. We have required the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the common-law element of “without consent” in order to convict a defendant of the crime of robbery under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-414 (Reissue 1964). See State v. McClarity, 180 Neb. 246, 249, 142 N.W.2d 152, 154 (1966). One dissenter relies on false imprisonment as an example of where we do not read into the statutory crime necessary elements in order to avoid construing a lawful arrest as false imprisonment. However, we define false imprisonment as the unlawful restraint of a person without his consent either with or without process of law. Grebe v. State, 113 Neb. 327, 202 N.W. 909 (1925). The statutory definition of false imprisonment does not contain the terms “unlawful” or “without consent.” See Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-314 and 28-315 (Reissue 1989). This court, however, necessarily reads the terms into the statutory crime of false imprisonment.
As to second degree murder, this court has long recognized “malice” as a material element of the crime. Thus, we did not add an element by “judicial fiat.” Rather, the majority has held *238that legislative silence as to a long-held material element of a crime did not, in fact, eliminate that material element from the crime.
The dissenters look to the State of Washington’s Supreme Court for guidance on how Nebraska’s second degree murder should be construed. Assuming the opinion is relevant to Nebraska law, State v. McCullum, 98 Wash. 2d. 484, 656 P.2d 1064 (1983), is not persuasive. In State v. McCullum, the appellant claimed that the jury instruction as to his affirmative defense of self-defense improperly placed the burden of proof upon the defendant. The Washington Supreme Court agreed with the appellant and held that because the legislature had not clearly imposed the burden of proving self-defense on criminal defendants, the obligation to prove the absence of self-defense remained with the prosecution. It is important to realize that State v. McCullum is an affirmative defense case and not a statutory construction case.
It is true that State v. McCullum mentions that the former Washington first degree murder statute which provided that “a killing was murder or manslaughter, unless it was ‘excusable or justifiable,’ ” was amended to omit the “ ‘excusable or justifiable’ ” language. 98 Wash. 2d at 491, 656 P.2d at 1069. The Washington Supreme Court accepted the plain language of the statute. The plain language of the amended statute, however, did not omit an essential element, because the State of Washington defines “intent” as acting “ ‘with the objective or purpose to accomplish a result which constitutes a crime.’ ” 98 Wash. 2d at 495, 656 P.2d at 1071. The Washington Supreme Court held that, given the Washington statutory definition of intent, a person acting in self-defense cannot be acting intentionally as defined by Washington statutes.
Nebraska does not, however, follow Washington statutory law. In Nebraska, intent is acting willfully or purposely and not accidentally or involuntarily. See State v. Coca, 216 Neb. 76, 341 N.W.2d 606 (1983). The Nebraska definition of intent does not resolve the ambiguities left by the silent omission of the element of malice in the printed language of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-304 (Reissue 1989). Therefore, the Washington Supreme Court case is significantly distinguishable and not applicable to *239the reasons why we have continuously held that malice is an essential element of § 28-304.
One of the dissenters contends that Ryan’s jury “was instructed that they must find that Ryan acted with the requisite criminal intent as a material element of the crime.” I do not agree that such instruction overcomes the omission of malice as an essential element of second degree murder. Jury instruction No. 11, referred to by the dissenter, does not define “criminal intent. ” Rather, that instruction instructs the jury to determine whether Ryan had the requisite “criminal intent” as required by jury instruction No. 7. Jury instruction No. 7 instructed the jury that among the material elements that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that Ryan did kill “intentionally, but without premeditation.” Jury instruction No. 10 defined “intentionally” as “willfully or purposely and not accidentally or involuntary. ” As stated earlier, that definition of “intentionally” does not resolve the ambiguities left by the silent omission of the element of malice in the printed language of § 28-304.
The majority opinion states that “[i]f malice is not read into § 28-304(1), individuals who commit legal acts, though punishable under the statute, would have to defend themselves through an affirmative defense of justification. ” The dissenters claim that the public officials need merely raise that they are statutorily protected. The dissenters also argue that it is not constitutionally infirm to require defendants to bear a burden of production. The dissenters’ analysis, however, places upon the defendant the burden of adducing evidence to prove the absence of a material element of a crime. To ignore the statute’s overbreadth by requiring the defendant to raise, for the first time before the jury, the absence of a material element of a crime as an affirmative defense would not accord the defendant the presumption of innocence which is a basic foundation of our criminal justice system. It must be remembered that the burden is upon the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each essential element of a crime and that the burden never shifts. See Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 97 S. Ct. 2319, 53 L. Ed. 2d 281 (1977); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S. Ct. 1068, 25 L. Ed. 2d 368 (1970).
*240One of the dissenters states: “[Ejach and every statute in a criminal code ought to be construed to reach only criminal conduct, that is, conduct which is unlawful, unjustified, or inexcusable.” This is exactly, the reason that this court has construed § 28-304 to include the element of malice — so that the criminal conduct of second degree murder is unlawful and without just cause or excuse. Furthermore, as articulated in the majority opinion, malice is an element which a jury, before convicting a defendant, must find that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt. An appellate court cannot in lieu of the jury determine whether the State proved an essential element of a crime when the jury did not even address whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that essential element.
Finally, a dissenter argues that justice is not served by the majority’s holding. The evidence indeed may be overwhelming that Ryan acted with malice. However, a jury must make that determination, not a trial court, unless a jury is waived. In a case such as Ryan’s, an appellate court can only review the case to assure that a defendant was given all the rights to which that defendant was entitled at trial. In Henderson v. Morgan, 426 U.S. 637, 96 S. Ct. 2253, 49 L. Ed. 2d 108 (1976), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether a defendant may enter a voluntary plea of guilty to a charge of second degree murder without being informed that intent to cause the death of his victim was an element of the offense. The Court assumed that the prosecutor had overwhelming evidence of guilt available. Nevertheless, the Court held that the guilty plea was not voluntary in a constitutional sense and that, in fact, the charge of second degree murder was never formally made because the defendant was not advised of an essential element of the crime. The Court further stated that nothing in the trial court record could serve as a substitute for either a finding after trial, or a voluntary admission, that the defendant had the requisite intent. See id.
It would be well to recall the words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who, in referring to the U.S. Supreme Court, stated that “[t]his is a court of law . . . not a court of justice.” The majority opinion is in tune with the U.S. and Nebraska Constitutions in requiring the State to prove to a jury, beyond a *241reasonable doubt, that a defendant is guilty of each and every element of the crime charged. Ryan, charged with second degree murder, was convicted by a jury that was not instructed upon or required to address whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt the essential element of malice. The Constitutions and the laws of the United States and Nebraska require that Ryan’s conviction of second degree murder be overturned and that he be granted a new trial.
One of the fundamental reasons that courts exist is to protect a citizen from the arbitrary acts of government. Every defendant, regardless of the brutality of his or her criminal act, is entitled to the presumption of innocence until a jury finds the defendant guilty of each and every element of the crime charged. Therefore, any holding, other than the holding reached by the majority opinion, would deprive Ryan of a fair and fall criminal jury trial, which is guaranteed to all defendants under the U.S. and Nebraska Constitutions.