Grievance filed against Bruning

1-20-2010 Nebraska:

LINCOLN (AP) -- A Lincoln attorney has filed a grievance against Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, accusing Bruning of abusing his position and making personal attacks on a judge and a lawyer during a radio show interview.

Korey Reiman said Tuesday that he believes Bruning violated professional rules of conduct with comments he made about Lincoln County District Judge John Murphy and Omaha attorney Stu Dornan during an interview on Omaha station KFAB earlier this month.

The interview focused on changes made to Nebraska's sex offender registry law, which Dornan claims is unconstitutional. In the interview, Bruning called Dornan an "apologist for sex offenders." He also said Murphy is a "piece of work" and he's "always been the rabble-rouser the guy that wants to stick a needle ... in the eye of the state."

At issue was an order Murphy issued to temporarily halt some of the law's provisions. The order was quickly vacated by a federal judge who previously ruled the law could take effect with some minimal exceptions.

Bruning's spokesman wouldn't immediately comment on Reiman's allegations.

Phone messages left Tuesday for Dornan and Murphy weren't immediately returned.

The grievance was filed with the state's Counsel for Discipline on Friday, Reiman said.

When asked about the decision to file, Reiman, a defense attorney who's not among those who've filed lawsuits challenging changes to the sex-offender law, told The Associated Press that Bruning's behavior simply struck a chord.

"I'm not out to get Jon Bruning, but I do think all attorneys have to abide by this code. I certainly have to," Reiman said Tuesday.

Reiman also said he thought Bruning implied the state didn't have to follow Murphy's order because the judge was "out of control."

"What kind of message does that send to the general public?" he asked.

The Counsel for Discipline investigates grievances to determine whether there's evidence of misconduct. The early stages of the process are confidential. In some cases of wrongdoing, the Nebraska Supreme Court can issue punishments ranging from probation to disbarment.

Kent Frobish, assistant counsel for discipline, said confidentiality rules prohibit him from confirming whether a grievance has been filed or an investigation is under way.

The process applies to all attorneys equally, including the attorney general, Frobish said.

Reiman said personal attacks are inappropriate for any attorney, but especially for the lead prosecutor for the state of Nebraska.

"That position, out of anybody in the state, has to convey a respect for the law and he certainly failed that during that interview, in my opinion," Reiman said. ..Source.. Omaha.com