Criminal Trial Underway for Nebraska Notary on Medical Cannabis Petitions
- The criminal trial of Nebraska notary Jacy C. Todd began, facing 24 misdemeanor charges related to notarizing petitions for the 2024 medical marijuana legalization campaign.
- Prosecutors allege Todd notarized petitions for Michael K. Egbert, a paid petition circulator, who was not physically present, with some petitions showing incorrect notarization dates.
- Todd testified that he sometimes completed notarizations later and was unaware that notarizations in 2024 required the signer and notary to be in the same place simultaneously.
- Egbert, who pleaded guilty to attempting to falsify his circulator’s oath and admitted to forging signatures, claims Todd never witnessed his oath in person on the disputed dates.
The criminal trial of a Nebraska notary accused of official misconduct began on Monday. The Nebraska Examiner reports that Jacy C. Todd is facing 24 misdemeanor charges related to his notary duties for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign that legalized medical cannabis in the state in 2024.
Prosecutors allege that Todd, between January 29 and July 2, 2024, notarized petitions on behalf of a Michael K. Egbert, a paid petition circulator, who was not in Todd’s presence. The charges are Class II misdemeanors which carry a maximum of six months’ imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, or both.
On Tuesday, Todd took the witness stand but could not explain why a couple of the petitions at the heart of the case had the wrong notarized date – Feb. 26, 2024, a date when Egbert was out of town.
“Perhaps I got a date wrong with that, I have no idea how. Like I said, I’m only human. I just know it was accidental.” — Todd during testimony via Nebraska Examiner
Todd testified that he would always witness a circulator sign their oath in person but would occasionally go back to stamp or sign a notarization to finish it later while overseeing his store and with dozens of petitions coming in. Todd further testified that he was unaware that in 2024 the complete notarization needed to occur while the signer and notary were in the same place.
Egbert, who in 2024 pleaded guilty to a Class I misdemeanor of “attempting” to falsify his circulator’s oath, has admitted to using a phone book to add false signers to his petitions, forging signatures and fabricating birth dates. Egbert alleges that Todd never witnessed Egbert’s oath in person during the dates in question.