http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-20T06:30:07-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_3l_sues_after_being_kicked_out_of_law_school_for_alleged_plagiarism/ A former third-year law student claims in a lawsuit that the University of Nebraska College of Law discriminated against him and violated his constitutional rights when he was kicked out of school for alleged plagiarism. Layth Mohammad Al-Turk claims discrimination on the basis of his Arabic heritage and Muslim beliefs,… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Law Schools, Law Students, Trials & Litigation, States, Nebraska Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:00:40 -0600 43155.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/wrongful_death_suit_filed_in_car_crash_cites_nebraska_fetal_protection_law/ A wrongful death suit filed on behalf of a Maryland family killed in a Nebraska car crash also seeks damages for the death of a fetus. The case may be the first civil suit based on Nebraska’s 2003 law expanding legal protections to fetuses at any stage of development, the… Tort Law, Injury & Accident Law, Medical Malpractice, Trials & Litigation, States, Alabama, Nebraska, Utah Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:31:07 -0600 41472.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dui_attorney_allegedly_crashed_lexus_took_off_running_was_tackled_by_bystan/ A Nebraska lawyer who specializes in defending driving-under-the-influence cases is now reportedly facing one of his own—following two prior convictions—after police say he rear-ended another vehicle with his speeding Lexus and crashed his car a block later in downtown Omaha near the courthouse on Tuesday night. Police said Robb Gage,… Criminal Justice, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Personal Lives, States, Nebraska Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:27:26 -0500 40732.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jury_sides_with_out-of-state_lawyer_in_hard-fought_battle_over_attorneys_fe/ What reportedly may be the largest jury award ever made in Lancaster County, Neb., resulting in a $22.5 million settlement by General Motors in an automobile accident case, also has led to a protracted court battle between the plaintiff's attorneys concerning how to split the attorney's fees. Paid $2.25 million… Appellate Practice, Contracts, Law Firms, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Nebraska Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:07:51 -0500 39942.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_neb._court_oks_90-day_contempt_term_for_victim_in_rape_case_but_prosecu/ Upholding a trial judge's power to compel a witness to testify, the Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday said a Kansas woman who says she was raped at age 7 can be jailed for 90 days if she refuses to cooperate with the prosecution of the case. However, the court noted… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Criminal Procedure, Judiciary, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Nebraska Fri, 11 May 2012 16:31:49 -0500 38771.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disbarred_lawyer_gets_30_days_for_over_a_decade_of_unauthorized_practice_of/ A Nebraska lawyer who continued practicing law for over a decade after he was suspended in 1998 for failing to pay state bar dues has been criminally convicted of two misdemeanor counts of unauthorized practice of law and sentenced to 30 days in jail. David M. Walocha, who is now… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, States, Nebraska Mon, 07 May 2012 10:47:40 -0500 38653.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/despite_lack_of_law_license_neb._man_practiced_from/ David Walocha graduated from Creighton University School of Law in 1994. He passed the Nebraska bar exam. He got his law license. Then he let it lapse in 1996, by not paying his bar dues. Nonetheless, he practiced law from 1998 to 2011, often picking up clients from his primary… Legal Ethics, States, Nebraska Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:26:10 -0500 37881.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/what_happens_to_your_facebook_page_after_death_nebraska_bill_gives_say-so/ A bill pending in Nebraska would make the state the second to give estate representatives the power to handle social media accounts after the death of state residents. The bill would treat Facebook, Twitter and email accounts as digital assets that would be managed by appointed representatives, according to the… Internet Law, Privacy Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Trusts & Estates, States, Nebraska, Oklahoma Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:00:57 -0500 37840.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nebraska_lawyer_who_practiced_for_13_years_on_a_suspended_license_is_disbar/ Suspended in 1996, two years after he became a lawyer, for failing to pay dues to the Nebraska state bar association, David M. Walocha began practicing law again in 1998 even though the suspension remained in force. He entered appearances in at least 65 cases in Douglas County between then… Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, Nebraska Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:26:07 -0600 37735.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/tribe_seeks_injunction_to_curb_alcohol_sales_near_reservation/ An Indian tribe in South Dakota is asking a federal judge to issue an injunction as part of its suit against companies that make and sell beer in a Nebraska border town. The Oglala Sioux Tribe has amended its $500 million suit to ask the judge to limit beer sales… Health Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Nebraska, South Dakota Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:04:41 -0600 37478.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/swiss_drug_company_wants_no_part_of_lethal_injection/ A Swiss drug company has asked Nebraska officials to return a drug it made that the state plans to use for the execution of death row inmates. The CEO of Naari says the company did not supply the drug to the state and would never support its use in a… Attorney General, Contracts, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Criminal Procedure, International Law, Judiciary, States, Nebraska Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:09:03 -0600 36217.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/allegations_of_inappropriate_behavior_spur_effort_to_recall_county_attorney/ Commissioners in Nebraska’s York County are trying to initiate a recall of County Attorney Bill Sutter after the prosecutor reportedly refused a request to resign. The commissioners acted after hearing complaints from Deputy County Attorney Candace Dick and two other office employees, report the York News-Times and… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Legal Ethics, States, Nebraska Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:03:05 -0500 34839.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nebraska_attorney_general_criticized_for_comparing_welfare_recipients_to_hu/ Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has issued an apology after comparing welfare recipients to hungry raccoons during a campaign speech. Bruning is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Speaking on Saturday, he told of an effort to protect endangered beetles found during a road construction project, report Careers, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Environmental Law, Government Law, States, Nebraska Fri, 12 Aug 2011 07:18:39 -0500 34418.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/the_job_market_isnt_so_good_in_wisconsin_and_dc_after_all_consultant_says/ There was scant good news when Economic Modeling Specialists released its analysis of job openings and bar passage numbers this week. The consulting company concluded that nearly every state has an oversupply of lawyers. The exceptions, it said, were Nebraska, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Now the… Careers, Recession, States, District of Columbia, Nebraska, Wisconsin Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:07:53 -0500 33655.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sedative_for_lethal_injection_illegally_imported_says_nebraska_lawyer/ There is "strong evidence" lethal injection sedative used in Nebraska is being illegally imported from India, according to a lawyer there who handles capital cases, and using it brings brings legal and humane risks, he wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Alan Peterson, who practices in… Attorney General, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, States, Nebraska Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:57:39 -0500 32206.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_refuses_to_dismiss_drug_indictment_based_on_evidence_collected_by_wir/ A federal judge in Omaha has refused to dismiss the drug cases against an inmate and 10 other defendants based on evidence collected by a Nebraska lawyer who wore a wire. The lawyer, Terry Haddock, supplied Shannon Williams with a cellphone so he could run his marijuana operation from jail… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Nebraska Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:20:57 -0500 31823.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/icourt_application_iphone/ Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Technology, Trials & Litigation, States, Nebraska, Opening Statements Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:40:51 -0600 29843.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/as_inmate_seeks_to_suppress_wired_lawyers_evidence_a_new_issue_did_feds_bug/ Motions to suppress are commonplace, but the evidence being debated in a federal district court hearing in Omaha, Neb., this week is anything but. At issue is whether attorney Terry Haddock was acting as a lawyer for inmate Shannon Williams when Haddock carried a government-wired cellphone into the Douglas County… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Government Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, 8th Circuit Court, States, Nebraska Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:24:05 -0600 29930.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_neb._court_disbars_depressed_lawyer_who_kept_practicing_during_earlier_/ William Switzer argued that his depression should be a mitigating factor weighing in favor of suspension rather than disbarment. But the Omaha, Neb., attorney apparently tipped the balance in favor of the ultimate legal ethics sanction by continuing to practice during a previous 18-month suspension that began in 2008, according… Administrative Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Nebraska Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:18:28 -0600 29365.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/forced_to_dress_naked_store_mannequin_in_bikini_owner_mulls_possible_suit/ Called by a concerned citizen over an undressed mannequin in a store window, Beatrice, Neb., police first covered that part of the window with paper and then, when store owner Kevin Kramer complained, threatened to arrest him for disorderly conduct, he says. But Kramer has struck back, retaining a lawyer… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Corporate Law, Criminal Justice, Government Law, States, Nebraska Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:57:11 -0500 27262.abajournal.com