Colin Miller [0]

In State v. Kibbee, Eddie Kibbee brought an Ex Post Facto Clause challenge to his convictions for first-degree sexual assault and felony child abuse.[1] Kibbee was convicted for sexual acts committed against a sixteen year-old,[2] and if his ex post facto claim had been that the legislature rose the age of consent from sixteen to seventeen after his alleged crimes, he would have had a viable claim.  He also would have had a viable claim if his conduct was classified as second-degree sexual assault at the time of his alleged crimes or if he was sentenced to fifty years’ incarceration, but the maximum punishment for his crimes was only forty years at the time of commission.

LB 36: A Shot In The Arm For Lethal Injection

On May 28, 2009, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 36, a statute instituting lethal injection as the method of executing death sentences.  The bill was introduced in December 2008 by Attorney General Jon Bruning in response to State v. Mata, a Nebraska Supreme Court case that declared the state’s electrocution procedure via the electric chair unconstitutional in February of that year.  The bill suggests a preference for what is commonly known as a three-drug “cocktail” to be used in the execution of death row inmates. The cocktail was originally created in Oklahoma in 1977, and has been widely adopted by several states across the nation. [1]

In response to increased interest regarding the annual write-on competition, the Executive Board has provided the following samples. These are samples of successful write-on submissions from the 2010 competition.  They are to be used as guides for those entering future write-on competitions.

Write On – comment sample 1

Write On – comment sample 2

Write On – comment sample 3