Nebraska notary begins trial in misconduct case tied to medical marijuana petitions

Jacy Todd(koln)

By KSNB Local4 and First Alert 6 staff reports

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - A Nebraska notary public charged with improperly signing off on medical cannabis petitions in 2024 will begin trial Monday.

Jacy Todd, 54, of York, is charged with 24 counts of official misconduct. Todd is accused of improperly signing off on medical marijuana petitions.

Last April he asked for a jury trial, and it was granted to him by a court in May. Monday, the jury in the trial was selected.

After Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Hall County Attorney Marty Klein charged Todd last fall, Judge Alfred Corey dismissed the charges. The defense argued that notary publics are not government workers and cannot face criminal penalties.

District Judge Andrew Butler then overruled Corey’s decision, ruling that notaries are public servants and can be held criminally liable.

In his opinion, Judge Butler questioned the pursuit of criminal charges against Todd noting “the current climate of the state,” an apparent reference to the passage of medical marijuana laws last fall by Nebraska voters.

Butler also said however that those decisions, “are left to another entity.”

Last July, Todd announced that he was running for governor and would challenge Gov. Jim Pillen in the GOP primary. Todd also runs a CBD health and wellness retail store in central Nebraska.