Appointed as U.S. District Judge: May 26, 1992; be-came chief judge for the District of Nebraska, 1999Biography: Born Dec. 1, 1946, in Toledo, Ohio. Gradu-ate of Kearney State College, 1969; University of NebraskaCollege of Law (with distinction and Order of the Coif),1972. Married Verdella Blank Kopf (deceased Dec. 26, 1986).Three children: Marne C. Byrd, Lisa Kopf and Keller Kopf.Married Joan Stofferson, April 30, 1992. Former: appointedfull-time U.S. magistrate, 1987; served as counsel for the stateof Nebraska in regard to the impeachment of the Nebraskaattorney general, 1984; private law practice, Cook, Kopf andDoyle, Lexington, 1974-86; law clerk to Donald R. Ross, U.S.Circuit Judge, 1972-74. Honors and awards: elected Fellowof the Nebraska Bar Foundation, 1989.
Bush Signs Abortion Ban; Judge Stays Law in NebraskaI saw Judge Nigapillio (SP) on Fox News immediately after the signing discussing the legislation. He mentioned that the PBA had been struck down in Nebraska some years back by the same SCOTUS we have today but that he thought this writing would stand up.... He mentioned that there were at least three appeals coming. So this stay occuring in Nebraska where the Law had once been struck down and one of the appeals filed there isn't surprising....
President Bush on Wednesday afternoon signed the first federal law to restrict an abortion procedure since the U.S. Supreme Court's 30-year-old Roe v. Wade decision.
But less than an hour later, a U.S. District judge blocked the legislation from taking effect in Nebraska, where one of three appeals against the new law had been filed, the Associated Press reports.
The bill outlawing what opponents call "partial birth" abortion had been challenged even before it became law.
In acting on the Nebraska appeal, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf stopped short of barring the law's implementation nationwide. But he issued the Nebraska edict because the law did not make an exception for the health of the mother. Hearings were also held Wednesday on similar challenges in San Francisco and New York City.
The "partial-birth" procedure, generally done in the second or third trimester, involves partial delivery of the fetus before it is killed. Anti-abortion groups had sought to have the procedure outlawed since 1995. But two separate attempts were both vetoed by then-President Bill Clinton, who said both did not provide exceptions to protect the mother's health.
Supporters of the legislation say it applies only to a relatively rare procedure done late in pregnancy, the AP reports. Pro-choice groups counter that the measure's language is overly broad and could wind up making several other safe and common procedures illegal.