State v. Collins

── State v. Collins ── Court: Nebraska Supreme Court Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 05/15/2026 08:12 AM CDT - 381 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 321 Nebraska Reports STATE v. COLLINS Cite as 321 Neb. 381 State of Nebraska, appellee and cross-appellant, v. William P. Collins, appellant and cross-appellee. ___ N.W.3d ___ Filed May 15, 2026. No. S-25-169. 1. Statutes. The application of a statute to undisputed facts is a question of law. 2. Judgments: Appeal and Error. On questions of law, an appellate court is obligated to reach a conclusion independent of the determination reached by the court below. 3. Speedy Trial: Appeal and Error. Because the application of undisputed historical facts to the Nebraska speedy trial statute is a question of law, it is not unusual for appellate speedy trial opinions to consider exclud- able periods that differ from those considered by the trial court. 4. Speedy Trial. To calculate the deadline for trial under the speedy trial statutes, a court must exclude the day the State filed the information, count forward 6 months, back up 1 day, and then add any time excluded pursuant to the statutes. 5. ____. When the State files an amended information that charges the same crime, the time continues to run against the State for purposes of the speedy trial act. 6. Speedy Trial: Proof. To overcome a defendant’s motion for discharge on speedy trial grounds, the State must prove the existence of excluded time under the speedy trial statute by a preponderance of evidence. 7. Indictments and Informations: Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances. Aggravating circumstances are now part of the allega- tions that must be set forth in the information before trial. 8. Indictments and Informations: Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances: Pleadings. An alleged defect in the aggravating cir- cumstances set forth in the information is the proper subject of a motion to quash, which may be made in all cases when there is a defect  - 382 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 321 Nebraska Reports STATE v. COLLINS Cite as 321 Neb. 381 apparent upon the face of the record, including defects in the form of the indictment or in the manner in which an offense is charged. 9. Speedy Trial: Words and Phrases. A “proceeding,” within the meaning of the exclusion of time for a period of delay resulting from other pro- ceedings concerning a defendant under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207(4)(a) (Reissue 2016), is any application to a court of justice, however made, for aid in the enforcement of rights, for relief, for redress of injuries, for damages, or for any remedial object. 10. Speedy Trial. An accused cannot take advantage of a delay in being brought to trial where the accused is responsible for the delay by either action or inaction. 11. Speedy Trial: Words and Phrases. The period excludable under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-1207(4)(a) (