Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 07/27/2018 09:09 AM CDT - 646 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 300 Nebraska R eports IN RE GUARDIANSHIP OF CARLOS D. Cite as 300 Neb. 646 In re Guardianship of Carlos D., a minor child. Eleany Esmerelda Zunun Gonzalez, appellant, v. State of Nebraska, appellee. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed July 27, 2018. No. S-17-1056. 1. Statutes. Statutory interpretation presents a question of law. 2. Courts: Jurisdiction: Guardians and Conservators. A Nebraska county court has exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters relating to the guardianship of a person, subject to exceptions. 3. Guardians and Conservators: Child Custody. Under Nebraska stat- utes and jurisprudence, a guardianship of a child is a child custody determination. 4. Courts: Jurisdiction: Child Custody: Federal Acts. The 2017 amend- ment to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-1238(b) (Reissue 2016) clarifies that courts with jurisdiction over an “initial child custody determination” as that term is used in § 43-1238(a) also have jurisdiction and authority to make special findings of fact similar to those contemplated by 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (Supp. V 2018). 5. Legislature: Statutes: Time. Generally, legislation that is passed takes effect 3 calendar months after the Legislature adjourns unless the Legislature evidences otherwise. 6. Statutes: Time. Procedural amendments to statutes are ordinarily appli- cable to pending cases, while substantive amendments are not. 7. Statutes: Words and Phrases. A substantive right is one which cre- ates a right or remedy that did not previously exist and which, but for the creation of the substantive right, would not entitle one to recover. A procedural amendment simply changes the method by which an already existing right is exercised. 8. Statutes: Child Custody: Time. A statutory amendment to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-1238(b) (Reissue 2016) which merely clarifies the authority and procedure for making the factual findings in a case involving child custody is a procedural amendment and applies to pending cases. - 647 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 300 Nebraska R eports IN RE GUARDIANSHIP OF CARLOS D. Cite as 300 Neb. 646 Appeal from the County Court for Lancaster County: Holly J. Parsley, Judge. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings. David V. Chipman, of Monzón, Guerra & Associates, for appellant. Kevin Ruser and Morgan Nelson, Senior Certified Law Student, of Immigration Clinical Law Program, University of Nebraska College of Law, and Robert McEwen, Sarah Helvey, and Allison Derr, Senior Certified Law Student, of Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, for amici cur- iae University of Nebraska Immigration Clinic and Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest. Charles Shane Ellison, of Creighton Immigrant and Refugee Clinic, Creighton University School of Law, for amici cur- iae National Justice For Our Neighbors and Immigrant Legal Center, an affiliate of Justice For Our Neighbors Network. Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, and Papik, JJ., and Vaughan, District Judge. Miller-Lerman, J. NATURE OF CASE Although the county court for Lancaster County appointed Eleany Esmerelda Zunun Gonzalez as guardian of ...
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