Nebraska
Unemployment benefits denied to ex-prosecutor
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has denied unemployment benefits to a former Howard County attorney who was appointed to fill a vacancy, but lost his position when another lawyer was elected to the office.
The court released a ruling Friday that says Robert Sivick was not eligible because he served in a major advisory or policy-making position without tenure.
According to the ruling, Howard County hired Sivick as its interim county attorney in 2007. Sivick ran for the office in 2010, and lost. He filed for unemployment benefits, but the Nebraska Department of Labor denied his claim.
Sivick now works as Grand Island’s city attorney. He also is a former Omaha City Council member and member of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.
Iowa
Jury clears jailers in excessive force clothing change
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has cleared four Woodbury County jailers of a charge that they used excessive force after an inmate refused to change into jail-issued clothing.
The Sioux City Journal reports the verdict Thursday was surprising because jurors had earlier sent a note to U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett, asking about the upper limit of monetary judgments.
After the jury sided with the jailers, Bennett seemed shocked.
“Wow, what a surprise. A pretty interesting verdict after that first note,” Bennett said after releasing the jury.
The case dated to May 2012, when Shannon Peters was booked into the jail for a misdemeanor charge of violating a no-contact order.
Peters was ordered to remove her clothing in front of a female officer and change into a jail jumpsuit. Peters refused, claiming a male officer could see into the holding cell.
That prompted officers to forcefully remove her clothes.
Peters said officers slammed her head against a concrete bunk but the jailers argued they used proper force after Peters became disruptive.
Peters filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming officers Jonathon Hatfield, Michelle Risdal, Lee Blanchard and Carlos Lucero used excessive force.
Peters also included Woodbury County and former Sheriff Glenn Parrett in the lawsuit, but Bennett dismissed them from the lawsuit. The judge also dismissed Peters’ claim that she was unlawfully strip searched.
David O’Brien, a Cedar Rapids attorney who represented Peters, expressed disappointment. O’Brien also is pursuing a similar lawsuit filed by a woman against different Woodbury County jailers.
“The worst thing about this is, it tells Woodbury County jailers they can continue abusing young women,” O’Brien said.
Last March, the county paid $385,000 to settle three lawsuits filed by other women who filed lawsuits over the jail’s strip searches.
A lawyer for the officers in the latest case declined to comment but Sheriff Dave Drew said the verdict vindicated his employees and the jail’s policies.
“I’m glad that it came out in court how it was handled,” said Drew, who was elected after the incident that prompted the lawsuit. “It shows we have a tough job, a very difficult job, and sometimes force is needed.”
Louisiana
Lawyers to OK contract changes in ‘Big Oil’ suit
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Attorneys suing 97 oil and gas companies on behalf of a New Orleans-area levee board have agreed to modify their contract to trim the amount they would receive if they succeed with the suit.
The Advocate reports the lawyers also agreed to remove elements of the contract that critics have said give them too much control over the process.
One change under the agreement: If an energy company is forced to rebuild wetlands, the law firm will not be paid a share of the cost of the rebuilding.
The agreement was proposed by the Jones Swanson law firm a month ago in a letter sent to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, but made public after a closed-door session Thursday, according to Nola.com.
Commissioner Stephen Estopinal said the changes would focus on four elements of the contract and were proposed “unilaterally” by the attorneys working on the case.
The provision dropping awards to the attorneys that would come as a result of restoration projects, rather than from cash awards, had been criticized as potentially taking money away from efforts to repair the coast.
The changes would not drop a so-called “poison pill” that requires the authority to pay the lawyers for their time and expenses if the board drops the case or is forced to stop pursuing it because of actions by the Legislature. Supporters of the suit have said that provision is necessary to prevent political meddling in the case.
However, the new provisions would limit the amount the attorneys would receive under that scenario.
Previously, officials had suggested the lawyers would get repaid for about seven months of work they did laying the groundwork for the case at the request of flood protection authority commissioners. Under the altered agreement, the authority is expected to be required to repay only the costs of work done since the contract was signed in July.
In addition, the alterations would clarify that the attorneys could be fired for cause without bringing the “poison pill” into effect and would specify that the board must approve suits against any new defendants.
All those elements of the contract have been criticized by Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Chairman Garret Graves, Jindal’s point man in opposing the lawsuit. In particular, Graves has said vagueness in the contract’s language could allow the attorneys to file new suits without board authorization, something he claimed could make future board members “indentured servants” unable to rein in their lawyers.
Details of the altered contract were discussed during a closed-door executive session.
Despite the contract alterations, debate over the hiring of the authority’s attorneys is expected to continue. Last week, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association sued Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, saying he illegally approved the hiring of the law firms. The suit says the authority is not permitted by law to hire outside counsel and that the contingency fees and other elements of the contract violated state law.
