State v. Ondrak
| Decision Date | 12 November 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-163,82-163 |
| Citation | 326 N.W.2d 188,212 Neb. 840 |
| Parties | STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Leon R. ONDRAK, Appellant. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. Criminal Law: Prior Convictions. Where conviction of a previous crime is an essential element of the crime charged, proof of prior convictions is properly made by offering in evidence the complaint or information, judgment rendered on the verdict or plea of guilty, evidence that the judgment has become final, and that the defendant in an earlier conviction is the same person presently before the court.
2. Pleas: Convictions. A plea of guilty is the equivalent of a conviction by trial and verdict or a finding of guilt by the court.
Dennis R. Keefe, Lancaster County Public Defender, and James L. Foster, Lincoln, for appellant.
Paul L. Douglas, Atty. Gen., and Patrick T. O'Brien, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lincoln, for appellee.
Heard before KRIVOSHA, C.J., and BOSLAUGH, CLINTON, WHITE, HASTINGS, and CAPORALE, JJ.
Appellant, Leon R. Ondrak, was convicted in the District Court for Lancaster County, Nebraska, of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcoholic beverages (DWI). He was sentenced as a third offender to probation for 18 months, 60 days in the county jail, ordered not to drive any vehicle in the State of Nebraska for 6 months, and also had his license revoked for 6 months. The appeal followed, with a single assignment of error that one of the certified copies of his prior convictions was insufficient to prove his habitual offender status because it did not expressly show that the trial court made a finding of guilt. We affirm.
At the hearing to determine whether the appellant had been convicted twice previously of DWI offenses, the State offered two exhibits which were certified copies of court records. The exhibit which was objected to, and the one at issue, states as follows:
The ground for appellant's objection to the admission of the certified copy into evidence as a prior conviction is that the record failed to show that the Lincoln Municipal Court had rendered judgment on his plea of nolo contendere. The District Court overruled the objection and found that the appellant had been convicted of two previous offenses as alleged in the information.
Where conviction of a previous crime is an essential element of the crime charged, proof of prior convictions is properly made by offering in evidence the complaint or information, judgment rendered on the verdict or plea of guilty, evidence that the judgment has become final, and that the defendant in an earlier conviction is the same person presently before the court. State v. Lee, 195 Neb. 348, 237 N.W.2d 880 (1976); Danielson v. State, 155 Neb. 890, 54 N.W.2d 56 (1952).
We recognize that there is a conflict of authority upon this question in other jurisdictions. However, we have adopted what we feel to be the better rule, and that is that making a plea of guilty is "the equivalent of a conviction by trial and verdict or a finding of guilt by the court." Stewart v. Ress, 164 Neb. 876, 881, 83 N.W.2d...
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State v. Perrigo
...the State may prove a prior conviction in any permissible manner. See rules 404(2) and 403. As we said in State v. Ondrak, 212 Neb. 840, 842, 326 N.W.2d 188, 189-90 (1982): Where conviction of a previous crime is an essential element of the crime charged, proof of prior convictions is prope......
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State v. Evans
...433 S.E.2d 700, 701 (Ga.Ct.App.1993); State v. Shaffer, 14 Kan.App.2d 282, 788 P.2d 1341, 1343 (Kan.Ct.App.1990); State v. Ondrak, 212 Neb. 840, 326 N.W.2d 188, 190 (Neb. 1982); People v. Goodwin, 197 Colo. 47, 593 P.2d 326, 328 (Colo.1979).8 Frequently cited as support for using conviction......
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State v. Gilliam
...v. Ress, 164 Neb. 876, 881, 83 N.W.2d 901, 904 (1957). See, also, State v. Hall, 268 Neb. 91, 679 N.W.2d 760 (2004) ; State v. Ondrak, 212 Neb. 840, 326 N.W.2d 188 (1982) ; Taylor v. State, 159 Neb. 210, 66 N.W.2d 514 (1954). Cf. State v. Hess, 261 Neb. 368, 622 N.W.2d 891 (2001).36 State v......
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State v. Hall, S-03-590.
...a plea of guilty is `the equivalent of a conviction by trial and verdict or a finding of guilt by the court.'" State v. Ondrak, 212 Neb. 840, 842, 326 N.W.2d 188, 190 (1982) (quoting Stewart v. Ress, 164 Neb. 876, 83 N.W.2d 901 (1957)). As a result, we conclude that the State's burden of es......
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Nebraska Plea-based Convictions Practice: a Primer and Commentary
...v. Cowan, 524 F.2d 504 (5th Cir. 1975). 528. SeeABA STANDARDS RELATING TO PLEAS OF GUILTY § 1.1 (b) (1982). 529. See State v. Ondrak, 212 Neb. 840, 326 N.W.2d 188 (1982). 530. See State v. Jones, 218 Neb. 382, 355 N.W.2d 227 (1984). 531. 224 Neb. 830, 401 N.W.2d 683 (1987). 532. Id. at 833,......