In re Interest of Elainna R., 298 Neb. 436

On Nov. 17, 2016, Elainna R., a student at Lincoln Southeast High School, fought another student (A.L.) in a hallway; the altercation lasted 2–3 minutes and progressed to the floor.
School campus supervisor and security officer Sief Mahagoub (4 years in role, trained to break up fights) intervened, commanded the students to stop, positioned himself between them, and helped separate them after Elainna grabbed A.L.’s hair and struck her multiple times.
The juvenile petition charged Elainna under Lincoln Mun. Code § 9.20.050 (disturbing the peace — engaging in fighting), invoking Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1322 and § 43-247(1) for juvenile adjudication.
Elainna denied the petition; the juvenile court found the State proved the offense beyond a reasonable doubt and adjudicated her under § 43-247(1); disposition was continued pending a predisposition report.
On appeal, Elainna argued (1) a school security officer/campus supervisor cannot be a victim under the disturbing-the-peace ordinance (analogizing them to police officers), and (2) the evidence was insufficient to support adjudication.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a school security officer/campus supervisor can be a victim under Lincoln’s disturbing-the-peace ordinance	School safety officers are like police officers and therefore have no reasonable expectation of peace; fighting words/abuse toward them should not qualify as disturbing the peace	Lincoln ordinance is broad; prior Nebraska precedent allows public officials (including police) to be victims; nothing in ordinance excludes school security officers	A school security officer/campus supervisor may be a victim of disturbing the peace under the ordinance
Whether the evidence supported adjudication under § 43-247(1) for disturbing the peace by fighting	No sufficient proof Elainna disturbed Mahagoub’s peace; no fighting words toward him	Elainna’s physical actions (pushing past Mahagoub’s arm, grabbing hair, continuing to strike) disrupted his ability to keep order and therefore disturbed his peace	Evidence was sufficient; adjudication affirmed (State proved disturbance beyond a reasonable doubt)

In re LeVanta S., 295 Neb. 151 (2016) (juvenile-review standard cited)
Landrum v. City of Omaha Planning Bd., 297 Neb. 165 (2017) (ordinance interpretation principle)
State v. Broadstone, 233 Neb. 595 (1989) (disturbing-the-peace includes violent acts; police may be victims)
State v. Boss, 195 Neb. 467 (1976) (words constituting fighting words; police held susceptible)
State v. Groves, 219 Neb. 382 (1985) (rejection of special immunity for officers from disturbing-the-peace claims)
State v. Moore, 226 Neb. 347 (1987) (upholding disturbing-the-peace conviction based on totality of conduct toward officer)
State v. McNair, 178 Neb. 763 (1965) (definition of "disturb" applied to municipal ordinance)
State v. Drahota, 280 Neb. 627 (2010) (discussing limits on fighting words doctrine)