My parents were both Air Force officers. I grew up in Colorado. I earned a degree in economics at Whitman College and earned my law degree at the University of Colorado.

I first came to Nebraska in 1983 as a young Air Force Judge Advocate. I served four years at Offutt AFB and for two of those years also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Nebraska. In 1986 the American Bar Association honored me as the Outstanding Young Military Service Lawyer of the Year. One of my last acts on active duty was to travel to Nebraska’s death row to hand convicted serial killer John Joubert his dishonorable discharge from the Air Force. I have been an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska since 1986.

After leaving active duty I practiced law in Omaha for eight years, representing a major agricultural lender during the farm crisis of the late 1980’s. During that time, I was twice a finalist in the Nebraska Toastmasters State Humorous Speech Contest. I also took graduate courses in philosophy and logic at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

I returned to Colorado in 1995 and lived in a small town 8,236 feet above sea level for more than twenty years. In 2013-2014 I temporarily relocated to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I earned an advanced law degree (LL.M.) in agricultural law and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas School of Law. During my time in Colorado, I served as one of two municipal judges for the City of Boulder. I also served three years on the Colorado Combative Sports Commission (formerly the Colorado Boxing Commission).

While living in Colorado I wrote two mysteries published by Time-Warner. My first mystery, The Fractal Murders, was a Book Sense mystery pick. Part of the story takes place in Nebraska.

In 2020 I bought my Lemoyne home as a vacation home, but I loved the Sandhills so much that I made it my primary home. Today I teach karate in Ogallala, though I still sometimes take on legal matters in Colorado.*

I left the Democratic party three years ago for several reasons. First, I disagreed with that party’s position on guns. Living at 8,236 feet, guns were not a political issue. Most residents owned guns to protect themselves and their families from bears, mountain lions, and all sorts of people squatting in the national forests. The nearest sheriff’s deputy might sometimes be more than an hour away. Second, I felt the party was becoming increasingly less hospitable to moderates. Third, I was tired of belonging to a party that consistently brought a knife to a gunfight.

I have three grown children. I live in Lemoyne with my Irish Wolfhound, Solomon. I enjoy teaching karate and floating down the Niobrara River. I have a bad popsicle habit.

*Not licensed in Nebraska