Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — So this angry guy nudges his ex-wife in the head with a baseball bat while their child looks on.
Deputies arrest him, and Terry J. Graff of Long Pine, Neb., knows he's in trouble. That's because a few months earlier he was present when a judge signed a protection order directing the couple to stay away from each other, except to drop off or pick up the kids for visitation.
The court mailed the protection order to him.
But a deputy didn't put it in his hand, and that provided Graff the technicality he needed Friday to beat the protection order violation in an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Even though Graff knew about the protection order, the law says he didn't.
State law clearly states that protection orders must be handed to respondents by sheriff's deputies. A record of the delivery must be kept in the district court of each county.
The law calls it personal service.
The record shows Graff didn't get personal service in this case.
"We acknowledge the logic of the state's argument that Graff's actual knowledge of the entry of the order should be sufficient. But we are constrained by the words of the statute as chosen by the Legislature," said the ruling, written by Chief Justice Mike Heavican.
The incident with the baseball bat occurred at Graff's home in 2009 when his ex-wife came to pick up one of the children.
According to court records, Graff yelled and refused to let the child leave, swinging the bat near the woman's car as she sat inside. Then he put the bat against her head and gave a push.
A Brown County Court judge convicted Graff and sentenced him to one year of probation. He appealed the conviction to the district court and lost.
The Supreme Court's ruling reversed the previous appeal and ordered the case against Graff dismissed.
Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan@owh.com
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