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dimic
is debated
dent, something he said was done rarely by other prose
cutors. Multiple counts
"We never had multiple counts before,1 Goos said.
"The only reason I can think of is they want the case to
go to trial. Then there's a reluctance to settle for plea bar
gaining." Goos said he thought students were inclined to go to
trial for "experience.
"If they're going to court for experience, that's
wrong," he said. "It's not been a particularly healthy
climate.'
Pokorny said he thought the extra work students put
into investigating cases before filing charges resulted in
fewer cases, ultimately going to court. The other deputy
county attorneys who are more pressed for time might
be more likely to file charges on the sole basis of a police
incident report, he said.
Of the 365 cases assigned to the students last semester,
46 resulted in no charges, Pokorny said, adding he
r
(o (of
thought that was probably a higher percentage than with
the other prosecutors.
"I assume someone is unhappy because they lost a
case," Pokorny said, referring to criticism from defense
attorneys. "No one has ever come to talk to me."
He said 23 cases ended in dismissals. The cases were
not frivolous, he said, but often a witness decides not to
testify or the victim is satisfied with restitution and de
cides not to pursue the matter.
Extra cases
A student who took the course last semester said he
thought that because of the clinic some cases went to trial
that probably wouldn't have otherwise.
"The laws are on the books, but I don't think they
would always go through on prosecution," Ralph
Rayburn said. "I didn't have any ethical problems with it,
but I don't think students should be encouraged to learn
at someone else's expense, someone who otherwise
wouldn't be subjected to the experience."
Continued on Page 2
u
n
thursday, april 24, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 104. no. 69
Kxsi w mi ) lt j: I
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Photo by Colin Hackley
A fading flower of spring signals the onslaught of finals, an increase in temperatures and the arrival of summertime.
Bong bill effect delayed until May
By Julie Bird
(e) Copyright 1939, th Daily Ntbraskin
Controversy surrounding a criminal prosecution clinic
at the NU College of Law since before its inception in
1979 has led to a review by law college officials and could
lead to changes in the program.
Originally, criticism centered on the decision to have a
prosecution clinic at UNL without a similar defense pro
gram. The battle was mostly ideological-law students and
faculty took sides on whether it was ethical for the school
to become involved in the prosecution and possible jailing
of misdemeanor offenders to give law students trial
experience.
Since then, the clinic apparently has created a burden
on the public defender's office and the county judges,
according to several county officials.
They complained about a recent increase in the
number of misdemeanor cases filed and the reluctance of
some students to plea bargain, which would reduce the
caseload.
John Strong, dean of the law college, said, the program
will be reviewed at the end of the semester and the clinic
could be discontinued if the problems warrant it.
The clinic was designed to fill what the law faculty felt
was a void in trial experience, Strong said. Although a civil
clinic was and still is operating through the Legal Aid
office, Strong and others said students also need criminal
law experience.
Review records
Gale Pokorny, who formerly worked at Legal Aid, was
hired as a full-time faculty member to supervise the stu
dents registered for the prosecution clinic. The seniors
taking the class are granted a limited practice under .
Pokorny's supervision.
The clinic operates through the Lancaster County
Attorney's office. Like other prosecutors, students review
police and sheriff arrest records for cases which might
merit prosecution, Pokorny said. He reviews cases before
the students see them, weeding out some in the process.
Students then do some preliminary investigation to help
determine if charges should be filed, Pokorny said. If they
decide to file charges, they do so when a suspect is
arraigned in county court, he said.
' The students follow up a case, questioning witnesses
and police and checking out the scene of the incident,
Pokorny said. During some investigations, the student
decides there is not enough evidence to convict and drops
the charges, he said.
Last semester, the nine students in the clinic were
assigned 365 cases, Pokorny said.
Problems begin
That's apparently where the problems of case overload
begin, officials said.
Dennis Keefe, Lancaster County public defender, said
that in the past year his office's caseload increased more
than 50 percent. He quickly added that not all of the in
crease could be attributed to the clinic, but said it played
aart. He could not say exactly how much was attribut
ed to the clinic.
"Nobody has the data," Keefe said. "I'm just reacting
to the deputies grumblings."
Although Keefe said he didn't think the clinic had
created a major problem, he added that since the clinic
began there had been an "immense j unbelievable jump" in
the number of cases filed, with an approximate increase
from 460 cases to 660 cases. The law students only handle
misdemeanors.
County Judge Jeffre Cheuvront agreed there have been
more misdemeanor charges filed and said he has seen the
effects in the courtroom.
"I think the people (at the law school) have to realize
there are only so many criminal justice resources to go
around," Cheuvront said. "When you add something to
one agency it will have an effect on the others."
He said although most of the "students cases are not
very serious and some are "pretty small potatoes," the
program still has placed "somewhat of a burden on the
court.
"That's not saying we're unwilling to do it (handle the
cases)," he added.
Less willing to bargain
Cheuvront said it seemed the students were less willing
to plea bargain a case in lieu of trial, therefore making
more trial cases.
"Young lawyers get their first case and want to go to
trial," he said. "If all cases were tried, the judicial system
would fall down."
A large percentage of the law students cases are tried
as compared to other prosecutors, Cheuvront said, but
added he didnt know what the percentage was.
Dick Goos, chief deputy public defender, said he feels
his office is defending cases that would otherwise be
settled out of court.
He echoed Keefe, saying that taxpayers were paying
for the clinic in terms of defense time and court time, be
cause the clinic was expensive, caused trouble for the de
fendant and was harmful to the court's economy of time.
"We had to use up a lot of time with their cases that
could have been spent on more serious criminal matters,
Goos said.
One time-consuming situation Goos mentioned was the
filing of multiple counts stemming from the same inci-
Nebraska's bong buyers can rest easy until May 2, even
though Gov. Charles Thone Wednesday signed the Legis
lature's ban-the-bong bill, which would be in effect today
because it contained an emergency clause.
Wednesday afternoon Senior U.S. District Court Judge
Richard Robinson in Omaha signed a temporary restrain
ing order against the state, blocking civil or criminal
actions under provisions of LB991 until May 2 at 9:30
am., when a hearing on the new law's constitutionality
is scheduled.
The restraining order stemmed from a suit filed in
Omaha's U.S. District Court by Don Fiedler, an attorney
representing several head shops called the Nebraska Trade
Accessories Association and Omahan Bruce Van Langen,
who entered the suit on behalf of all pipesmokers in the
state.
The suit names Thone, Attorney General Paul Douglas,
Douglas County Attorney Donald Knowles and Nebraska
State Patrol Superintendent Col. E.J. Kohmetscher as
defendants.
LB991 would, as signed by Thone, outlaw the sale of
drug paraphernalia in the state, but critics have said the
law is too vague and .will not meet constitutional muster.
Fight expensive
Terry Moore, co-owner of Dirt Cheap Enterprises, 227
N. Uth St., said that the fight against the bong bill has
already been expensive and will cost even more.
Moore estimated Dirt Cheap's paraphernalia business at
$250,000 a year, a figure which is increasingly yearly. The
shop has a comer on three-fourths of the drug para
phernalia business in Lincoln, he said.
If the bill had gone into effect at the moment Thone
signed it, Dirt Cheap would have lost $12,000 -15,000 in
merchandise in its inventory, Moore said.
With a sign on the front window which read, "Business
as Usual," Moore commented that it was "to let people
know thats what it's going to be."
Customers concerned
There had been concern by customers about what
police might do if the restraining order had not been
obtained. Moore said he was not worried because "we
have good relations with the police and they would be
showing bad faith if they tried to stop us (since they knew
the NTAA was trying to get the restraining order).
Moore added that a "certain group of parents put
pressure on the Legislature and were going through the
legal channels. We're not bitter or antagonistic about it.
We're also going through the legal system."
Throughout Dirt Cheap signs abounded which read
"Support Your Local Head Shop and one said "These
items not intended for illegal use."