Nebraska

Judge delays execution because of concerns about drug in new cocktail

At least two states are planning to try new combinations of execution drugs that include the opioid painkiller fentanyl. One of those states is Nevada, which wants to use a combination of the sedative diazepam, fentanyl and the paralyzing agent cisatracurium, The Marshall Project reported last summer. Concerns about cisatracurium…

Nov 10, 2017 4:10 PM CST

Lawyer falsely claimed he was checking on ward who was no longer at facility, suspension order says

An Omaha, Nebraska, lawyer has received a one-year suspension for claiming in guardianship reports that he was checking on an incapacitated adult who, it turned out, had moved out of an assisted living facility without his knowledge. The Nebraska Supreme Court suspended Rodney Halstead in a Nov. 3 order (PDF),…

Nov 9, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Lawyers can accept payment in bitcoin, Nebraska ethics opinion says

Lawyers may accept payment in digital currencies such as bitcoin but must immediately convert the money into U.S. dollars, according to a Nebraska ethics advisory opinion. The opinion, issued Sept. 11, is the first by a state ethics body to address the ethics of bitcoin payments, the Norfolk Daily News…

Sep 18, 2017 3:58 PM CDT

Lawyer who advised client to ‘relax’ in response to Facebook inquiries gets suspension

A Nebraska lawyer who responded to his client’s Facebook inquiries with statements such as “relax” and “this is complicated” has been suspended from practice for 90 days. The Nebraska Supreme Court approved the suspension of lawyer Dustin Garrison in an April 27 opinion (PDF) noted by the Legal Profession Blog…

May 8, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

10 Questions: Omaha lawyer spends Sundays as NFL official

Every fall, plenty of lawyers have an opinion about football. The difference is that Clete Blakeman’s opinion matters.

Jan 1, 2017 3:00 AM CST

Two federal defenders in Omaha discover they are half sisters

Julie Hansen and Kelly Mahoney Steenbock both excelled in academics and were determined to attend college and law school, despite growing up poor in households that could not pay for their higher education. Both got jobs after law school in county public defender offices, and both eventually became public defenders…

Nov 28, 2016 2:23 PM CST

Voters in three states back capital punishment in ballot initiatives

Voters in three states on Tuesday passed ballot initiatives supporting capital punishment. In California, voters rejected a measure to repeal the death penalty and passed a measure that seeks to speed up the appeal process, report the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. The measure to speed up executions…

Nov 9, 2016 9:52 AM CST

University of Nebraska launches program encouraging more attorneys in state’s rural areas

Faced with a shortage of attorneys outside major cities, the Nebraska legal community has launched a program aimed at creating more of them. According to a press release from the University of Nebraska College of Law, the law school will work with three undergraduate institutions to recruit college freshmen from…

Oct 27, 2016 9:00 AM CDT

Imprisoned Pastafarian loses lawsuit; federal judge says ‘religion’ is in fact a parody

Arguments by Pastafarians that they are entitled by their religion to wear an upside-down spaghetti strainer on their heads for driver’s license photos have succeeded in several states and a number of foreign countries. But prison officials in Nebraska and a local federal judge are made of sterner stuff. In…

Apr 14, 2016 12:35 PM CDT

Longtime lawyer and CEO of failed bank gets 11 years in fraud case

A longtime Nebraska lawyer who later served as the CEO of TierOne Bank when it became insolvent was sentenced Wednesday to an 11-year federal prison term. He was also ordered to pay a $1.2 million fine and undetermined restitution. Gilbert Lundstrom, 74, was accused by the government of causing more…

Mar 23, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

Man with rifle case, but no gun, outside courthouse gets 210 days for obstruction, resisting arrest

There was only a tripod, a camera and other accessories in the rifle case that Floyd Wallace was carrying outside a Nebraska courthouse earlier this month. However, the 20-year-old was sentenced last week to a 210-day jail sentence, for obstruction and resisting arrest concerning the manner in which he responded…

Mar 21, 2016 3:05 PM CDT

Judge sequesters jury after courthouse hallway fight, then declares mistrial

An action-packed four days of trial in an Omaha, Nebraska, double-murder case came to an abrupt conclusion Friday morning when the judge declared a mistrial at the request of the defense. However, the prosecution did not object, following a difficult day on Thursday when a key government witness against Charles…

Mar 4, 2016 12:10 PM CST

Judge cites safety concerns in barring officers from bringing guns into courtroom

A Nebraska judge says he barred police officers from bringing their guns into his courtroom this week partly because of safety concerns. Judge James Gleason of Douglas County tells the Omaha World-Herald a gun could go off, even accidentally, and harm someone. “I consider it a safety issue,” he said.…

Dec 18, 2015 9:00 AM CST

Nebraska lawmakers abolish death penalty with exact vote count required to override governor’s veto

Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty on Wednesday, as the state’s unicameral legislature overrode a veto by the Republican governor in a 30-19 bipartisan vote. The 30 votes to override the veto of Legislative Bill 268 were the exact minimum required to do so. At one point, the vote was…

May 27, 2015 5:05 PM CDT

Nebraska governor vetoes bill abolishing death penalty; are there enough votes for an override?

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Tuesday vetoed a bill abolishing the death penalty in the state, saying capital punishment “is a matter of public safety.” In the final vote on the bill, the legislature had two votes more than needed to override the veto, but Ricketts is trying to persuade…

May 27, 2015 7:45 AM CDT