Kurt Hohenstein

Kurt Hohenstein (born July 12, 1955) is a Republican politician, disbarred attorney, and history professor who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 17th district from January to August 1993.

Early career Hohenstein was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1955. He graduated from the Homer Community School in 1973, and then attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1976 and his Juris Doctor in 1980. In the primary election, Hohenstein placed ahead of Conway, winning 56 percent of the vote to Conway's 44 percent.

Following the primary election, the Supreme Court of Nebraska struck down the state's legislative districts, and the legislature subsequently redrew the districts. Hohenstein attacked Conway, the chairman of the redistricting committee, for "gerrymandering" the 17th district for his own electoral benefit. Hohenstein ultimately defeated Conway by a wide margin, receiving 61 percent of the vote to Conway's 39 percent.

Legal troubles Shortly after Hohenstein took office, the Nebraska State Bar Association received a complaint against Hohenstein from his former law partner, which alleged that he had stolen money from one of his clients. The Bar initiated an investigation, which resulted in Hohenstein voluntarily surrendering his law license and the appointment of a special prosecutor. Later that day, special prosecutor Clarence Mock filed a felony theft charge against Hohenstein for stealing $30,298 from a former client, some of which he used to install a hot tub and spa at his personal home. Mock alleged that Hohenstein had two faces: "There was one whose public face was of a law-and-order and hang'-em-high prosecutor," and the other was "the real Kurt Hohenstein, one who was engaged in a pattern of theft without any remorse[.]" He was sentenced to a prison term between six years and eight months to twenty years at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, In 1998, the Parole Board voted 3–1 to grant Hohenstein parole, and he was released from prison. He received the Hughes-Gossett Award from the Supreme Court Historical Society for a 2002 article that he authored, Just What the Doctor Ordered: the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act, the Supreme Court, and the Federal Regulation of Medical Practice, 1915-1919. He joined the faculty of Winona State University in 2005 as an assistant professor of history.