Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 09/23/2022 09:07 AM CDT - 480 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 312 Nebraska Reports HEIST V. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF CORR. SERVS. Cite as 312 Neb. 480 Robert J. Heist II, appellant, v. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services et al., appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed September 23, 2022. No. S-20-813. 1. Summary Judgment: Appeal and Error. An appellate court affirms a lower court’s grant of summary judgment if the pleadings and admitted evidence show that there is no genuine issue as to any material facts or as to the ultimate inferences that may be drawn from the facts and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. 2. ____: ____. An appellate court reviews the district court’s grant of sum- mary judgment de novo, viewing the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and drawing all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor. 3. Immunity: Jurisdiction. Sovereign immunity is jurisdictional in nature, and courts have a duty to determine whether they have subject matter jurisdiction over a matter. 4. Jurisdiction: Statutes. Subject matter jurisdiction and statutory inter- pretation present questions of law. 5. Judgments: Appeal and Error. An appellate court independently reviews questions of law decided by a lower court. 6. Judgments: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. A jurisdictional question which does not involve a factual dispute is determined by an appellate court as a matter of law, which requires the appellate court to reach a conclusion independent from the lower court’s decision. 7. Sentences: Statutes: Time. The good time law to be applied to a defendant’s sentence is the law in effect at the time the defendant’s sen- tence becomes final. 8. Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. Where a lower court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of a claim, issue, or question, an appellate court also lacks the power to determine the merits of the claim, issue, or question presented to the lower court. - 481 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 312 Nebraska Reports HEIST V. NEBRASKA DEPT. OF CORR. SERVS. Cite as 312 Neb. 480 9. Administrative Law: Immunity: Waiver: Jurisdiction: Declaratory Judgments. The Administrative Procedure Act provides a limited statu- tory waiver of the State’s sovereign immunity and confers subject matter jurisdiction for a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination regarding the validity of a state agency’s rule or regulation. 10. Administrative Law: Words and Phrases. The Administrative Procedure Act defines a “rule or regulation” as any standard of general application adopted by an agency in accordance with the authority con- ferred by statute. 11. Administrative law. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, a rule or regulation shall not include internal procedural documents which pro- vide guidance to staff on agency organization and operations, lacking the force of law, and not relied upon to bind the public. 12. Administrative Law: Jurisdiction: Declaratory Judgments: Statutes. The Administrative Procedure Act does not confer jurisdiction for declaratory relief concerning judicial interpretation of a statute. 13. Declaratory …
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