Nebraska
Hastings couple plead not guilty in boy’s slaying
HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A Hastings woman and her live-in boyfriend face trial next month on child-abuse charges related to the shooting death of the woman’s 4-year-old son, who prosecutors say was slain by his 9-year-old brother.
The pair pleaded not guilty on Thursday in Adams County District Court and are scheduled for trial on July 28.
Police say the woman’s 9-year-old son fatally shot his 4-year-old brother on April 18. The older boy is charged with manslaughter as a juvenile.
The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles accused of crimes. For that reason, the AP is not naming the adults or children involved the case.
Prosecutors have said police, school and mental health officials had concerns about the 9-year-old’s often violent behavior and that officials had warned both his mother and her boyfriend in the weeks before the shooting not to have guns in the house and to lock up all knives and other sharp objects.
An arrest affidavit says the mother didn’t see the urgency in securing those items and made excuses for not locking them up, such as needing knives for cooking. Police said they found six firearms and ammunition in the home after the shooting. None of the guns had been locked up.
Police said the little boy was shot with a .22-caliber rifle.
Officials also reported that the mother failed to keep several appointments with mental health officials regarding her son in the weeks before the shooting.
Missouri
Public school district settles prayer complaint
FAYETTE, Mo. (AP) — A mid-Missouri high school has been ordered to restrict some religious activities at schools and to rewrite its handbook as part of a settlement of a complaint filed by a secular organization.
The decree settles a federal court complaint filed in November against the Fayette school district alleging the school violated the Constitution by announcing weekly prayer meeting over the intercom and allowing a Christian group to meet before school, when other clubs could not. It also alleged that the club’s sponsor, teacher Gwen Pope, prayed with the students and displayed personal religious materials in the classroom, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Humanist Association, a student, the student’s mother and a former Fayette student.
The consent decree, issued last month by U.S. District Judge Nannette Laughrey, prohibits faculty sponsors from actively participating in religious activities during student meetings and from placing religion-themed items were students will see them. The district also is required to change its teacher handbook entries on student organizations to specify the proper content of meeting announcements and when student clubs can meet.
“The Fayette R-III School District shall be permanently enjoined from promoting prayer or religious activity as prohibited by the First Amendment,” according to the decree.
Employees will be allowed to wear religious clothing, jewelry, or other religious items.
The complaint also named former high school principal Darren Rapert, who made the announcements about the meetings of the Christian student group. Rapert and Pope no longer work for the district.
The decree says the school district and the two employees deny all the allegations other than one related to the meeting announcements. The handbook will be modified to make it “abundantly clear” that the school does not endorse religion, Superintendent Tamara Kimball said in a statement. He added it would cost the district more than $41,000 to continue to fight the complaint.
“After months of investigation and interviews the district determined that virtually every allegation made by the plaintiffs was false, misleading or taken out of context,” Kimball said. “As a result, the district agreed that the one allegation we did confirm as accurate, the content of the morning announcement, would be a simple concession to make so we could put this lawsuit behind us and continue our mission of educating students.”
David Niose, legal director for the American Humanist Association, said the consent decree addresses all the plaintiffs’ complaints.
“Teaching is not a stage on which to proselytize to students,” Niose said. “The job is to teach and it’s a secular job.”
Nebraska
Court dismisses divorce appeal by same-sex couple
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of a same-sex couple seeking a divorce in Nebraska.
The decision came in the case of Bonnie Nichols, a Raymond woman who married her long-time partner, Margie, in 2009 in Iowa. Bonnie Nichols filed for divorce last year, but a Lancaster County judge ruled that the court couldn’t grant it without recognizing the marriage.
Same-sex marriages are allowed in Iowa, but Nebraska’s constitution doesn’t recognize them.
The judge issued an order giving Bonnie Nichols 15 days to file an amended complaint, but said the case would be dismissed without the ability to refile if she didn’t.
Nichols instead appealed. On Friday, the high court said that because she appealed from a conditional order and not a final judgment, it lacks jurisdiction.
Iowa
Supreme Court overturns HIV case conviction
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of an Iowa man who pleaded guilty to criminal transmission of HIV.
Nick Rhoades, of Plainfield, appealed his 2009 conviction, claiming his attorney was ineffective by letting him plead guilty.
The court Friday found there was insufficient factual basis to support the plea and returned the case to district court.
Six of seven justices concluded intimate contact isn’t enough to prove that exchange of bodily fluid took place or that Rhoades intentionally exposed the man he had sex with in a way that could result in HIV transmission.
The state must prove a factual basis exists for the charge. If it cannot, Rhoades’ withdraws his plea.
Rhoades was initially sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was later released on probation.
