Nebraska Officials Appeal Court’s Dismissal Of Charges Against Notary For Medical Marijuana Petitions

Prosecutors, in their appeal, argue that a lower court erred in finding that a notary was not a public official and said many states recognize notaries public as having governmental power.

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and the Hall County Attorney’s Office are appealing the dismissal of criminal charges against a notary public who notarized medical cannabis petitions for the fall election.

Hall County Attorney Marty Klein, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) and Assistant Attorney General Michael Jensen filed an appeal Friday to take the case to Hall County District Court against Jacy C. Todd, 54, a notary from York.

Mark Porto, Todd’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday on the appeal but previously urged prosecutors to “stop playing political games.”

“A series of politically orchestrated (and false) Class II misdemeanors are among the least scary and intimidating things Mr. Todd has ever encountered,” Porto said in a statement last month.

Prosecutors charged Todd on October 2 with 24 counts of “official misconduct” for allegedly notarizing petitions outside the presence of a paid petition circulator—Michael Egbert of Grand—on 24 separate dates.

Egbert pleaded guilty November 8 to a Class I misdemeanor for circulator fraud, down from a felony. He testified in court that he used a phone book to illegally add and forge voter signatures.

Hall County Judge Alfred Corey dismissed all charges against Todd on November 22, finding that notaries are not public officials and that allegations of notarial “malfeasance” can already be tried administratively. Corey ordered the state to pay associated court costs.

“While these duties greatly assist others, notary publics are not public servants who are performing governmental functions,” Corey wrote in a four-page opinion.

The prosecutors, in their appeal, argue that Corey erred in finding that a notary was not a public official and said many states recognize notaries public as having governmental power.

The prosecutors added that an administrative investigation doesn’t prohibit criminal prosecution.

Todd is believed to be the first notary public criminally charged in Nebraska in actions involving allegations of notary malfeasance.

Hilgers’s office accused about seven other notaries involved with the medical marijuana ballot initiatives of similar malfeasance by Hilgers’s office in a Lancaster County District Court case against the petitions. None of the seven have been charged in the same manner as Todd.

The Lancaster County district judge dismissed the case after rejecting arguments from the AG’s Office, which included accusations of notarial malfeasance. That ruling is also being appealed.

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.