An Omaha man devoted to the TV mobster series "The Sopranos" who used a hammer to attack a former roommate after he declined to join his "family" is challenging his conviction under a relatively new Nebraska anti-gang law.
Steven Scott was convicted last summer of second-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon. He also became the first person in the state convicted of unlawful membership recruitment into an organization or association that engages in criminal acts, a law passed in 2009 as part of a package targeting gang violence.
Scott's attorney, Steve Lefler, says the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on a person's rights to free speech and assembly.
The Nebraska Attorney General's office says there is no constitutionally protected conduct prohibited by the law.
