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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1994)
/ xA&E "Where no one has gone before..." Andromeda One and the Exploring Unexplained Phenomena Conference are beaming into Lincoln this weekend. Page 9 Friday 73/44 Today, mostly sunny. April 22, 1994 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 93 No. 147 Bjorklund attorneys want Endacott off case By Kara G. Morrison Senior Reporter Defense attorneys for Roger Bjorklund said Thursday that Lancaster County District Judge Donald Endacott should have no further contact with the case because of the judge’s alleged improper contact with jury members. Bjorklund was convicted by a jury in No vember of murdering University of Nebraska Lincoln freshman Candice Harms. Endacott has scheduled Bjorklund’s sentencing for May 23. Defense attonicys brought up the issue of improper contact last month when filing a motion for a new trial. Endacott has said he prayed with jurors before the trial and hugged Crime victims find assistance through fund Money from auction will cover the costs that insurance won’t By Matthew Waite Senior Report*_____ A fund has been cstabl ished to help victims of violent crime cover costs that insur ance doesn’t, Lisa Cauble, coordinator of Victim Services, said Thursday. -The fund, using money raised from an auc tion Wednesday night, will pay for different costs involved in a crime, Cauble said. For instance,Cauble said, if a victim of a crime on cam pus travels a great distance home for the summer, the fund would help the victim pay for transportation to court in Lincoln.' The fund also could be used for people who were victims of domestic abuse and felt unsafe where they lived. Cauble said the fund would allow relocation of the victims until the court process was over, she said. v “The money in (the fund) will be directly used for victims ofviolent crimes,” Caublc said. “It helps victims out. It’s whatever they need.” Caublc said the fund was established to help She said she could not give specific details without betraying the Victim Services policy of confidentiality. Victim Services was created last August because of a suggestion by University of Ne braska-Lincoln Police Chief Ken Caublc. Lisa Caublc said the comments her husband re ceived were positive. After some discussion, Lisa Caublc said, it was decided the coordinator for the service should not be in the police force, because of the intimidation a uniformed olTiccr could cause. Lisa Caublc then decided to quit her job as a police officer and become the Victim Services coordinator. The service, she said, is intended to help victims report crimes and get through the court system. She said the program also could help provide counseling for some victims. All of the information coming into Victim Services is confidential, she said. “A lot of the decisions are left up to the victims," LisaCaublesaid. “It’s whatever makes them feel the most comfortable.” Victim Services is a first step for the victims of crimes, she said. Even if the victim does not report the crime, the service still is doing well. “We at least know (these crimes) are going on, and we know what kind of problem we have," she said. some jury members after they returned the verdict. Thejudge dismissed the new trial motion on March 23, but LancastcrCounty Attorney Gary Lacey asked last week to reopen the new trial hearing in order to clear up the improper con tact issue. Endacott has set hearings in Sidney for May 5 and 6 to question jurors about the case. In Thursday’s motion, Chief Deputy Public Defender Scott Hclvie said Endacott was a potential witness in the hearing, and his presid ing over it would deny Bjorklund due process. Lincoln defense attorney Vincent Powers said Thursday that the improper contact charges were serious and would be an immediate av enue for an appeal if Endacott remained on the case. r “They ought to appoint three brand-new judges to decide the sentencing,” Powers said. Powers said it was highly likely that if Endacott decided to remain on the case and sentenced Bjorklund to death, federal judges would overturn the ruling. ,0 “The reality is that federal courts would never allow a death sentence in this case,” he said. Powers said the allegations also could poten tially bring the verdict into question. “It’s a little like this: How would the people in Nebraska feel if prior to the Orange Bowl, Bobby Bowden went into the officials’ room, prayed with them and said ‘God help us through " this ordeal,’” Powers said. » Deputy County Attorney John Colborn said Thursday that prosecutors were confident that interviews with jury members would clear up improper contact allegations. “Our position will be that (Endacotl) doesn’t have to excuse himself from the case,” Colborn said. Colborn said interviewing the jurors would show Endacotl’s contact with them had no cffecton their decision and should not be reason for a new trial. In the April 14 motion to reopen the new trial hearing, Lacey cited decisions in two Ne braska cases stating “a new trial should be granted where the record is silent as to the possibility of prejudice,” but a new trial is not required “if the record affirmatively showscom munication had no tendency to influence the See ENDACOTT on 6 Hangin' on by a thread William Lauer/DN Chad Novacek, a freshman in the arts and sciences college, rappels down a 70-foot-hiah Lincoln Fire Department training tower Thursday afternoon. ROTC members perform the drill as part of their advanced camp qualification and also to gain confidence in themselves, Master sgt. John Luethje said. Wheelchair team wins fans, loses game By Julie Sobczyk Staff Reporter aron Boone races down the basketball court, looking for an open teammate to pass the ball to. Finding noonc available, he squares up to the basket and sinks a ten-foot This would be commonplace during the Husker basketball season. But this lime, Boone was playing a different game. The Comhusker guard, along with other Nebraska athletes and UNL representatives. shot. played a game of wheelchair basketball Thurs day against Rolling Storm, the University of Nebraska-Li ncol n’s whcclcha ir baske tbal 1 team. The event, which the Cornhusker athletes won 25-24, was part of Students with Disabilities Awareness Week, sponsored by the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. The wheelchair basketball game took the place of past years’ Wheelchair Wednesday, which put administrators in the place of dis abled students by having them try to get around campus for a day in a wheelchair. Jeremy Schmitt, a freshman elementary edu cation major and member of Rolling Storm, said he thought the game was an effective way to raise awareness on campusr “It brought a lot of publicity to our team.” he said. The basketball game was the major event for Students with Disabilities Awareness Week, said ASUN senator Tom Allison, co-chairman of the subcommittee for Students with Disabili ties. “We wanted something fun everyone could See GAME on 6 CBS tour workers enjoy life on the road By Patty Wewel Staff Reporter Moving to a different city each week, traveling across the country from cam pus to campus and living from hotel to hotel makes up the life of a CBS College Tour worker. “It’s all fun and games. It’s the first job 1 ever had that 1 liked," said Travis Tadysak, who was in charge of the soap opera booth. The lour has been stationed at the University of Ncbraska-Lincol n th is week. 11 consists of 13 men — 12 event producers in charge ofrunn i ng the tent games and a manager. The tour travels from August to May, with a break from Thanks giving to New Year’s Day. The tour, which travels all over the country, started this semester in Florida, worked its way to California and is on its way back. The men had different reasons for joining the tour. Danny Wilson, who runs the tent “Locker Talk,” previously worked asa freelance producer. W ilson has done work for MTV and HBO as a production assistant and an assistant camera man. Wilson said one reason he joined the tour was toslay in the entertainment business. People always want to be entertained, he said. He said he loved talking with students about staying focused and keeping their dreams alive. Tadysak started working on promotional tours as a summer job. Three years ago, he played basketball at St. Louis University, and he needed a summer job to pass the time before leaving to play professional basketball in Eu rope. But he said the professional offer in Europe fell through, so he decided to slay in the lour See CBS on 6