LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Supreme Court has reprimanded a western Nebraska attorney for a news release he sent to reporters on behalf of his client in a child death case.
The state’s Counsel for Discipline charged Bell Island, of Gering, with - among other things - knowingly making false statements.
The charges stemmed from a news release Island issued after his client refused to testify for the prosecution during the 2015 trial of her one-time boyfriend, Dustin Chauncey. Chauncey was charged with child abuse resulting in the 2008 death of 2-year-old Juliette Geurts, the daughter of Island’s client. Island’s release suggested that the prosecutor wanted his client to lie on the witness stand.
A referee found that Island had violated professional conduct rules by calling into question the prosecutor’s integrity and ethics.
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