LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The legal back and forth about the successful campaign for medical marijuana in Nebraska continues, despite a judge siding with campaign sponsors in a ruling last week.
In a hearing Tuesday morning, Attorneys for John Kuehn, who initially brought the suit, and the Attorney General’s office, which is representing Secretary of State Bob Evnen, asked Judge Susan Strong to allow them to amend their complaint post-ruling to include more evidence of alleged fraud and malfeasance in the signature collection process. They said they want to do this to prepare the court record for appeal.
“We want it to reflect the evidence portrayed in the trial,” Zachary Vigliano, with the Attorney General’s office said.
Vigliano claimed that before the trial, the extent of alleged fraudulent behavior was unknown, but case discovery brought it to light.
This is despite Strong’s ruling that even with some fraudulent signatures, the campaign still had more than enough to get on the ballot.
Daniel Gutman, representing Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said Strong should not allow the plaintiffs to amend the complaint because it would fundamentally change the case.
Gutman said the changes would make the case not about numbers, but about pervasive fraud, which was not proven to be present in the trial’s evidence. He also said they want to amend the complaint to include information that didn’t exist until after the trial, like one of the petitioners pleading guilty to fraud.
“This is an attempt to get another bite at the apple and change the nature of the appeal,” Gutman said.
Strong said there’s not a lot of case law in Nebraska on these issues and it’s a good idea for a higher court to consider the facts. She said she’d rule on whether the plaintiffs can update their complaint as soon as possible.
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The legal back and forth about the successful campaign for medical marijuana in Nebraska continues, despite a judge siding with campaign sponsors in a ruling last week. Read More
