5-2 vote will send case to 8th U.S. Circuit Court U
ByAdamKunker
Staff writer
The Lincoln City Council will
appeal a District Court decision from
earlier this month that allowed anti
I abortion rights protesters to return to
picketing Westminster Presbyterian
Church.
On Monday, while P Street took
center stage at die public council meet
ing, the council privately discussed the
lawsuit brought against the city by four
members of Rescue the Heartland, an
anti-abortion rights group. Council
members voted 5-2 to move forward
with an appeal.
For the last 21 months, picketers
from Rescue the Heartland have been
protesting outside the Westminster
Presbyterian Church, 2110 Sheridan
Blvd., because one of the church elders,
Dr. Winston Crabb, conducts abortions.
An initial injunction, granted Sept
30 by U.S. District Court Judge Richid
Kopf, was extended indefinitely Nov. 4.
On Monday, the council voted to appeal
that injunction.
“We think we have a good lawyer
and a good enough case to take it to die
next level,” Council Chairman Curt
Donaldson said. “We’re prepared to
appeal.”
Representing the city throughout
die initial stages of the lawsuit has been
Lincoln attorney Dan Klaus. Klaus was
out of town until Thursday and was
unavailable for comment
The case will now go before the 8 th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Kansas
City, Mo.
Donaldson said he was unsure of
whether or not the council would pursue
taking the case to the U.S. Supreme
Court
“It’s taking the right to worship and
the freedom of speech and drawing the
We trunk we
have a good lawyer
and a good enough
case to take it to
the next level”
Curt Donaldson
City Council chairman
line,” Donaldson said. “It’s something
important to the city of Lincoln.”
So far, $29,000 has been used by the
city for its legal defense. City Attorney
Bill Austin said an appeal could cost up
to $ 170,000 if the city loses.
Austin also said die city will proba
bly have to wait 18 months to two years
until a decision on the appeal is reached.
The Associated Press contributed
to this report
supreme Court justice to speak
on criminal sentencing guidelines
By Veronica Daehn
Staff writer
A U.S. Supreme Court justice will
talk to UNL today about guidelines
used in sentencing criminals guilty of
federal offenses, such as treason and
murder of federal officials.
Associate Justice Stephen G.
Breyer will talk as part of a regular
program sponsored by the Roman L.
Hruska Institute.
Harvey Perlman, former dean of
the NU College of Law, said Breyer
will talk about sentencing guidelines
in the federal judiciary and his expe
riences with them.
“He may make some suggestions
on reforming the current federal sys
tem,” Perlman said.
University Nebraska-Lincoln
spokesman Tom Simons said Breyer’s
address is free and open to the public.
It begins at 9:15 a.m. in 121 Ross
McCollum Hall on East Campus.
Following Breyer’s speech, Mark
W. Bennett, U.S. district judge for the
Northern District of Iowa, and
Clarence E. Mock, an Oakland
lawyer, also will speak on sentencing
guidelines, Simons said.
This is the third in a recent string
of events sponsored by the Hruska
Institute, which recognizes the career
of former U.S. Sen. Roman L.
Hruska. Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy spoke last fall, and
Judge Robert Bork spoke in
September.
Simons said the institute’s goal is
to “educate lawyers, law students and
the public at large in Nebraska to the
importance of the administration of
justice, particularly at the federal
level.”
Although based at the University
of Nebraska College of Law, partici
pants in the institute are mainly mem
bers of the State Bar Foundation and
the Nebraska federal judiciary.
I
Bills brothers denied bond
The twin brothers accused of beat
ing a man to death were denied bond
by a Denver County judge Monday.
David and Kevin Bills, both 21,
from Council Bluffs, Iowa, face first
degree murder charges in connection
with the Oct. 3 stabbing death of 34
year-old Patrick Perry.
Also charged in connection with
the attack are two friends of the
Billses, Kevin Snyder, 19, of Omaha,
and Josh Wright, 18, of Westminster,
the Denver suburb where the crime
occurred.
David Bills was a student at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln this
fall, and Kevin Bills had transferred to
a Denver school from UNL.
1 he tour men told police that they
broke up a domestic assault between
Perry and a woman, and Perry came
back a couple hours later, which led to
the fight.
But according to police reports,
the four men followed Perry and
attacked him after the first incident.
The Bills brothers are scheduled to
be arraigned in District Court on Dec.
7, while Snyder and Wright will have
their preliminary hearings next week.
Police: Resident started fire
The early morning fire that injured
five people at a state group home
Monday was started by one of its resi
dents, fire officials said Tuesday.
An 18-year-old resident of the
home involved in Monday’s fire was in
critical condition, and a 25-year-old
staff member was in stable condition.
Three others were treated for
smoke inhalation, fire officials said
A group home resident with a his
tory of setting fires was believed to
have started the blaze in his closet,
Deputy Fire Chief Larry Edwards said
Fire Investigator Jack Bruns said it
appeared that the resident was upset
because he was not allowed to watch a
television program. Bruns said die pro
gram may have been a football game.
Damage to the home and its Con
tents is estimated at $70,000.
Award turns out to be fraud
A UNL student was swindled for
$1,800.23 by a phony sweepstakes
offer.
The 22-year-old student received a
call in late September from the Capital
Premium Center in Ontario, Canada,
awarding him a Ford Taurus and
$25,000, Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann
Heermann said.
x lie siuuem was iuiu max an ne nau
to do to claim his prize was pay the cus
toms, insurance and attorney’s fees.
He express-mailed the money Oct
1 to the company. But he had not heard
from them since, so he reported the
fraud Monday.
Police warned that people should
never pay to receive a prize, nor should
they give out credit card numbers over
the phone.
Vandal leads police to him
A careless political vandal led
police right to his front door.
On Oct. 30, the vandal used a sten
cil to spray paint “Clinton Democrat”
on a large Ronald Raikes campaign
sign at 70th and A streets, Heermann
said.
Then, the vandal discarded his sten
cil, made from an exercise equipment
box, in the parking lot and left the
scene.
When police arrived, they found the
stencil, complete with the United
Parcel Service address label.
Police went to the home and cited
the 45-year-old man for vandalism.
Compiled by senior staff writer _
Josh Funk with contributions from
The Associated Press
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