Top Neb. Court OKs 90-Day Contempt Term for Claimed Rape Victim, But Prosecutor May Use Discretion

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…

May 11, 2012 9:31 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Gets 30 Days for Over a Decade of Unauthorized Practice of Law

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…

May 7, 2012 3:47 PM CDT

Despite Lack of Law License, Neb. Bartender Practiced from 1998 to 2011

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…

Mar 20, 2012 6:26 PM CDT

What Happens to Your Facebook Page After Death? Nebraska Bill Gives Say-So to Estate Representative

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…

Mar 19, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Nebraska Lawyer Who Practiced for 13 Years on a Suspended License Is Disbarred

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…

Mar 9, 2012 10:26 PM CST

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…

Feb 23, 2012 2:04 PM CST

Swiss Drug Maker Wants No Part of Nebraska’s Lethal Injection Regime

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…

Nov 30, 2011 8:09 PM CST

Allegations of Inappropriate Behavior Spur Effort to Recall County Attorney in Nebraska

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 the Associated Press.…

Sep 7, 2011 4:03 PM CDT

Nebraska Attorney General Criticized for Comparing Welfare Recipients to Hungry Raccoons

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 Fox…

Aug 12, 2011 12:18 PM CDT

Consultant Backtracks: Lawyer Surplus in Nearly Every State

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 company is taking a…

Jun 30, 2011 3:07 PM CDT

There’s ‘Strong Evidence’ Sedative for Lethal Injection Was Illegally Imported, Nebraska Lawyer Says

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…

Apr 12, 2011 6:57 PM CDT

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Drug Indictments Based on Evidence Collected by Wired Lawyer

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…

Mar 22, 2011 1:20 PM CDT

Nebraska Rolls Out Free Docket App

Jan 1, 2011 9:40 AM CST

As Inmate Seeks to Suppress Wired Lawyer’s Evidence, a New Issue: Did Feds Bug Lawyer Room at Jail?

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…

Dec 16, 2010 6:24 PM CST

Top Neb. Court Disbars Depressed Lawyer Who Kept Practicing During Earlier Suspension

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…

Nov 12, 2010 9:18 PM CST