While sentencing Aaron Patno to a prison term for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy, Judge George A. Thompson happened to quote Romans I: 20-27, though he didn't specify the quotation was from the Bible, and there was no more opportunity for that fact to sway the jury. Still, the Nebraska Supreme Court rescinded the sentence, declaring, "If a judge's comments during sentencing could cause a reasonable person to question the impartiality of the judge, then the defendant has been deprived of due process and the judge has abused his or her discretion." Asked what message the higher court was sending, Judge Thompson said, "I guess it's 'Don't quote the Bible.' "

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