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LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Dan McKeon of Amherst is sticking with his not guilty plea in court after resigning from the Nebraska Legislature to avoid the risk of being expelled.
A procedural hearing in Lancaster County Court on Monday set the date for McKeons bench trial for March 19. McKeon faces a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace, which comes with a maximum sentence of three months in jail, a $500 fine or both.
McKeon arrived late to his rescheduled hearing Monday after first trying to participate via Zoom from his attorney Perry Pirsch’s Lincoln office. Pirsch told Lancaster County Court Judge Matthew Acton that they intended to be there in person, but a prior Cass County Court case Pirsch was involved with was delayed.
Acton said parties must receive permission ahead of time to attend hearings using Zoom and ordered McKeon and Pirsch to travel to the courthouse before they proceeded.
“Court rules for both the district and county court states that all court hearings are presumed to be in person, sir,” Acton said. And you did not ask for permission prior to appear via Zoom, so get down here.”
McKeon resigned from the Legislature this month minutes before debate was set to begin on a resolution to possibly expel him, which would have been a first in Nebraska history. He faced expulsion proceedings over allegations that he inappropriately touched a legislative staffer during an end-of-session party last year and what the Legislatures Executive Board described as a “demonstrated pattern of behavior,” based on the results of an internal investigation.
