State v. Clapper, No. S-06-406.

• Court: Supreme Court of Nebraska
• Writing for the Court: Per Curiam
• Citation: 732 N.W.2d 657,273 Neb. 750
• Docket Number: No. S-06-406.
• Decision Date: 08 June 2007
• Parties: STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Joe R. CLAPPER, Appellant.

732 N.W.2d 657 273 Neb. 750 STATE of Nebraska, Appellee,
v.
Joe R. CLAPPER, Appellant. No. S-06-406. Supreme Court of Nebraska. June 8, 2007.

[732 N.W.2d 659]

Appeal from the District Court for Lancaster County: Earl J. Witthoff, Judge. Affirmed.

Dennis R. Keefe, Lancaster County Public Defender, and Robert G. Hays for appellant.

Jon Bruning, Attorney General, and James D. Smith for appellee.

HEAVICAN, C.J., WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

After Joe R. Clapper pleaded guilty to third degree assault, the district court overruled Clapper's demand for a jury trial and ordered him to pay restitution. In Blakely v. Washington,¹ the U.S. Supreme Court held that a criminal sentence violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial if it exceeds the "statutory maximum." The Court defined "statutory maximum" as the maximum sentence a court may impose without any additional findings beyond those supported by the jury's verdict or the defendant's admissions. Relying on Blakely, Clapper argues that because Nebraska's restitution statutes² allow the district court to find facts that increase a criminal sentence beyond the statutory maximum, restitution facts must be determined by a jury.

We affirm. We determine that restitution does not increase a defendant's sentence beyond what his or her conviction authorizes because the conviction itself authorizes the court to impose restitution.

273 Neb. 752

BACKGROUND

In 2003, under a plea agreement, Clapper pled guilty to a reduced charge of third degree assault. The charges arose from a bizarre incident in which Clapper attempted suicide and the bullet ricocheted off his skull and struck his girlfriend in the chest. The court sentenced Clapper to 1 year in the county jail and ordered him to pay $18,862.72 in restitution to the victim for medical expenses. The Nebraska Court of Appeals, in an unpublished memorandum opinion, vacated the restitution order and remanded the cause for further proceedings.³ It determined that the record showed insufficient evidence to support either the amount of the restitution or Clapper's ability to pay it.

On remand, in June 2004, Clapper filed an "Objection to Restitution Hearing," alleging that the restitution statutes were unconstitutional under Neb. Const. art. VII, § 5(1). That provision states (with certain exceptions not applicable here) that "all fines, penalties, and license money arising under the general laws of the state . . . shall be appropriated exclusively to the use and support of the common schools in the respective subdivisions where the

732 N.W.2d 660

same may accrue." After a hearing, the district court overruled Clapper's motion to quash. It found that § 29-2280 provides for restitution as compensation only and therefore is not a penalty. The court then set a date for the restitution hearing.

Before the restitution hearing, Clapper moved for a jury trial. The State argued that Blakely⁴ did not apply to restitution. Clapper countered that because restitution is a criminal penalty, under Blakely, a jury must determine restitution. The court overruled Clapper's demand for a jury trial.

Clapper appealed the court's order denying him a jury trial, but the Court of Appeals summarily dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction under Neb. Ct. R. of Prac. 7(A)2 (rev.2001).⁵ On remand, in March 2006, the State agreed that Clapper could stipulate to the facts at the restitution hearing without waiving

273 Neb. 753

his right to a jury to determine restitution. Clapper stipulated that the victim would testify that she had incurred $749.52 in medical expenses and that he could pay $500 in restitution. At the hearing, the court approved the stipulation and later ordered $500 in restitution.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Clapper assigns, restated, that the district court erred in (1) ruling that restitution under § 29-2280 is not a penalty; (2) failing to conclude that under the federal and Nebraska Constitutions, he had a right to have a jury determine restitution as provided for in §§ 29-2280 to 29-2289; and (3) overruling his demand for a jury trial on the issue of restitution.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Whether a criminal defendant has been denied a constitutional right to a jury trial presents a question of law.⁶ When we review questions of law, we resolve the questions independently of the lower court's conclusions.⁷

ANALYSIS

Clapper argues that under Blakely,⁸ restitution is a penalty above the prescribed statutory maximum for his offense and that a jury must therefore determine restitution. The State, however, argues that restitution does not increase a defendant's punishment beyond what is authorized by a defendant's conviction.

Nebraska's restitution statute provides in relevant part:

A sentencing court may order the defendant to make restitution for the actual . . . loss sustained by the victim as a direct result of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted. . . . Whenever the court believes that restitution may be a proper sentence . . . the court shall order that the presentence investigation report include

273 Neb. 754

documentation regarding the nature and amount of the actual damages sustained by the victim.⁹

In addition, "[t]o determine the amount of restitution, the court may hold a hearing at the time of sentencing."¹⁰

732 N.W.2d 661

We agree with Clapper that restitution is criminal punishment in this jurisdiction. This court has held that when a court orders restitution to a crime victim under § 29-2280, restitution is a criminal penalty imposed as punishment and is part of the criminal sentence imposed by the sentencing court.¹¹

SIXTH AMENDMENT'S JURY TRIAL REQUIREMENT

Both the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and article I, §§ 6 and 11, of the Nebraska Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant the right to trial by an impartial jury for serious offenses.¹² The 6th Amendment's jury trial guarantee is made applicable to the states by the 14th Amendment.¹³ And the U.S. Supreme Court established the contours of the Sixth Amendment's guarantee in three recent cases.

In Apprendi v. New Jersey,¹⁴ the U.S. Supreme Court first held that a sentence violates a defendant's constitutional rights if the sentencing court has imposed a greater sentence than the maximum it could have imposed without the challenged finding. The defendant pled guilty to the possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose. The sentencing court then found by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's actions warranted an enhanced sentence under the state's hate crime statute. The defendant had not admitted that his actions were racially

273 Neb. 755

motivated. The Court determined that the enhanced sentence violated the Sixth Amendment's jury trial guarantee. It held that "[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt."¹⁵

Four years later, in Blakely,¹⁶ the U.S. Supreme Court decided whether a defendant is entitled to have a jury determine the aggravating factors. The facts admitted in the defendant's guilty plea authorized the court to sentence him to a standard sentencing range. The sentencing court, however, increased the maximum standard sentence by more than 3 years. It found that the defendant had acted with deliberate cruelty, an aggravating factor for an exceptional sentence under the sentencing statutes. The Court held that this enhanced sentence also violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. It clarified that

the "statutory maximum" for Apprendi purposes is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant. . . . In other words, the relevant "statutory maximum" is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings. When a judge inflicts punishment that the jury's verdict alone does not allow, the jury has not found all the facts "which the law makes essential to the punishment" . . . and the judge exceeds

732 N.W.2d 662

his proper authority.¹⁷

Finally, in United States v. Booker,¹⁸ the Court applied its holding in Blakely to the federal sentencing guidelines. The Court stated: "Any fact (other than a prior conviction) which is necessary to support a sentence exceeding the maximum authorized by the facts established by a plea of guilty or a jury verdict

273 Neb. 756

must be admitted by the defendant or proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt."¹⁹ The sentencing court found the defendant possessed a larger quantity of drugs than the quantity presented to the jury. The larger quantity was a fact that enhanced his sentence under the guidelines.

In a separate, remedial opinion, a majority of the Court in Booker concluded it could preserve the federal sentencing guidelines by severing and deleting the statutory provision that made the guidelines mandatory.²⁰ It reasoned that engrafting its constitutional jury trial requirements onto sentencing statutes would prevent a sentencing court from relying on any information that a prosecutor had not alleged and proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court noted that the prohibition could extend even to information in a presentence report. This result would undermine the purpose of the guidelines, which was to ensure "similar sentences for those who have committed similar crimes in similar ways."²¹

But, in Cunningham v. California,²² the Court recently reiterated that

broad discretion to decide what facts may support an enhanced sentence, or to determine whether an enhanced sentence is warranted . . . does not shield a sentencing system from the force of our decisions. If the jury's verdict alone does not authorize the sentence, if, instead, the judge must...