Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Award of Time Served Credit for Non-Citizen Awaiting Extradition
On December 6, 2024, the Supreme Court of Nebraska clarified when a sentencing court is required to award credit for time served while incarcerated in a foreign country awaiting extradition. It held that crediting time served was mandatory provided the time was for the instant charge and had not been credited toward a sentence on another charge.
In 2016, the 16-month-old child of Ryan D. Rivera-Meister’s girlfriend died of head injuries. Physicians opined the boy’s injuries were inconsistent with Rivera-Meister’s claim that he fell while jumping from a bunk bed. An autopsy found abusive closed-head injuries.
In 2017, prosecutors charged Rivera-Meister with intentional child abuse resulting in death. Law enforcement traced him to Guatemala and, in June 2021, he was arrested by local authorities and held for extradition. He was returned to the U.S. 266 days later.
Rivera-Meister agreed to plead no contest to attempted intentional child abuse resulting in death. As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to file any additional charges and withdraw pending motions to revoke probation in several unrelated cases.
The court ordered a presentencing report. The report contained a calculation of 706 days Rivera-Meister spent in jail in Nebraska awaiting trial but did not contain a calculation of time spent in incarceration in Guatemala. It did contain a letter from defense counsel which referenced Rivera-Meister’s arrest in Guatemala on June 30, 2021, and calculated the time served until his return to the U.S. on March 23, 2022, at 266 days, and requested a total of 971 days’ time served. The prosecutor did not object to the report or offer evidence concerning the time served in Guatemala.
At the sentencing hearing, defense counsel asked for 971 days credit for time served and offered a letter from the Guatemalan National Police stating Rivera-Meister had no criminal history there. The court accepted the letter and said it would be made part of the report.
After allocution, the court listed all of the extensive evidence it considered, including the report. “The judge observed that Rivera-Meister’s criminal history was ‘lengthy’ and that his explanation for how the child was injured was ‘hard to fathom.’” It then sentenced him to 40 to 50 years and credited him only for the 706 days he spent in pretrial incarceration in Nebraska, explaining that he did not deserve credit for the incarceration in Guatemala because, “It was your decision to be gone. It was your decision not to come back.”
Aided by Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy attorney Matthew J. McDonald, Rivera-Meister appealed. The Supreme Court held that the issuance of time served credit is governed by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 83-1, 106(1) which uses mandatory language to require that such credit be given. Thus, the statute mandates that time served be credited. State v. Mueller, 920 N.W.2d 424 (Neb. 2018). The courts have no discretion to award less time. State v. Clark, 772 N.W.2d 559 (Neb. 2009).
Using precedent regarding pretrial time served in other states for guidance the court held that a sentencing court must award credit for time served in foreign incarceration pending extradition. An exception would be if the time was being credited to another sentence, including one in the foreign jurisdiction, because time served may only be applied to a single sentence. Because there was no evidence of another sentence in this case, the court modified the sentence “to include an additional 266 days of credit for time served, for a total credit of 972 days.” The judgment was affirmed as modified. See: State v. Rivera-Meister, 14 N.W.3d 1(Neb. 2024).
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Related legal case
State v. Rivera-Meister
| Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 14 N.W.3d 1(Neb. 2024) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |