Saturday, May 26, 2007

Defendant convicted of first degree sexual assault on his 6 year old stepdaughter loses appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Nebraska's incest statute § 28-703(1) because defendant did not have standing to raise his vagueness challenge to the law. State v. Archie, S-05-1145 David Archie was convicted in Lancaster County District Court of sexually assaulting his 6 yr old stepdaughter. The Supreme Court takes the case but affirms the conviction and 25-30 year sentence for the sexual assault, 28-319 (pre 2006 version) and of incest (§ 28-703(1) (Reissue 1995). Supreme court affirms the constitutionality of the state incest statute, even though in the earlier case State v. Johnson, 269 Neb. 507, 695 N .W.2d 165 (2005).several Justices would have held it unconstitutional. I guess the law wasn't vague enough to allow a child rapist to get away with it. The Supreme Court also finds a child abuse investigators testimony as to the credibility of the child victim was harmless error because it occurred on redirect testimony. On the small matter of Lancaster County's punctilious judge's error in mixing up his verdict forms, the Supreme Court let it go because no one complained about it. Finally although the defendant claimed his sentence was excessive, the legislature greatly increased the penalties for child sexual assaults with LB 1199 last year {28-319.01, class IB felony and 15 year minimum} so he's pretty lucky he got caught when he did.

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