Free Republic

A UCLA law professor is petitioning the Nebraska Supreme Court to review a case involving e-mails sent to Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln when he was a candidate for office. In June, the state Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of UNL student Darren Drahota, who had been found guilty of disturbing the peace and fined $250 for e-mails he sent to Avery in January and February of 2006. At the time, Avery was also a UNL political science professor. Eugene Volokh, a UCLA Law School professor who specializes in First Amendment law through teaching, writing and textbooks, filed the...

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman is again pushing for a requirement that state and local agencies verify residents are here legally before providing them with public benefits. On Friday, state Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber introduced a bill (LB403) in the Legislature, on Heineman’s behalf. Among the benefits covered in the bill are food assistance, unemployment, public housing, welfare and retirement. Unlike a similar bill pushed by Heineman last year that was not approved, it would not also repeal a law that allows children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition.