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    Office of Dispute Resolution Receives $1 Million Grant to Reduce Youth Involvement in the Court System

    Office of Dispute Resolution Receives $1 Million Grant to Reduce Youth Involvement in the Court System

    December 20, 2017
    The Sherwood Foundation has awarded the Administrative Office of the Courts /Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) $1 million to integrate the restorative justice practice of Victim Youth Conferencing (VYC) across the state. The goal of VYC is to reduce youth involvement in the juvenile justice system. In addition to the significantly high percentage (85%) of youth fulfilling reparation plans, the 2015-2017 pilot VYC project demonstrated early remarkable gains in reducing recidivism, in which 4 of...Read more

    Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission for 2017

    Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission for 2017

    December 7, 2017
    The Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission held its annual public hearing on December 4, 2017. Meeting minutes with attachments have been uploaded to the Judicial Branch website. Read: December 4 Judicial Resources Commission (Printing caution, with attachments the document is 238 pages)Read more

    Judge Riko Bishop Receives Nebraska State Bar Association Award

    Judge Riko Bishop Receives Nebraska State Bar Association Award

    November 27, 2017
    The Women and the Law Section of the Nebraska State Bar Association is pleased to announce that Riko Bishop, Nebraska Court of Appeals Judge, has received the 2017 Outstanding Contributor to Women in the Law Award. Judge Bishop makes a concerted effort to mentor young women (and men) in pursuit of a legal career. She takes personal interest in mentoring aspiring women and minorities who are considering the law on how to prepare for law school and how to develop a legal career. Judge Bishop has...Read more

    Nebraska Supreme Court Arguments Held at Beatrice High School

    Nebraska Supreme Court Arguments Held at Beatrice High School

    November 27, 2017
    Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on November 3, 2017, Beatrice High School Principal Jason Sutter announced the transformation of the school auditorium into a courtroom – a Supreme Court courtroom -- where justices, along with Court of Appeals Chief Judge Frankie Moore, listened to two arguments, answered questions and discussed with the students some of their insights into the legal community. Before starting the session, District Court Judge Rick Schreiner instructed the students on the differences...Read more

    Harassment and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders Updated

    Harassment and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders Updated

    November 21, 2017
    Mike Nehe, Domestic Violence Program Services Specialist for the Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation announced that the project to update Harassment and Domestic Abuse Protection Order forms is complete. The petition and affidavit forms completed by the public have new instructions to assist them in completing the forms. New Sexual Assault Protection Order forms and instructions as well as the Domestic Abuse renewal forms and instructions required after the passage of LB289 were...Read more

    Nebraska Dispute Resolution Celebrates Twenty-Five Years

    Nebraska Dispute Resolution Celebrates Twenty-Five Years

    November 20, 2017
    Chief Justice Mike Heavican and Office of Dispute Resolution Director Debora Denny awarded a 25th Anniversary commendation to The Mediation Center (TMC) in Lincoln on November 16, 2017. The Mediation Center Executive Director Casey Karges and Board Chair Jim Gordon accepted the honor. The event was held at the Lincoln Country Club, where over 100 attended the anniversary celebration. UNL College of Law Professor Alan Frank, State Deputy Ombudsman Carl Eskridge, Debora Denny and others noted...Read more

    A Big Token of Appreciation for a Judge with a Big Plan: Implementation of National Adoption Saturday in Nebraska

    A Big Token of Appreciation for a Judge with a Big Plan: Implementation of National Adoption Saturday in Nebraska

    November 20, 2017
    Judges of the Separate Juvenile Court in Omaha surrounded Judge Wadie Thomas at his final official adoption day press conference to present him with a fitting parting gift – a big “adoption day” teddy bear. The judge who brought National Adoption Day to Nebraska – Judge Thomas -- will retire just after the first of the year, January 2018. Teddy bears are a big item on National Adoption Day across the county. Bears are given to adoptees by judges for the children to love and care for, as they...Read more

    Commencement Ceremony For Central Nebraska Drug Court Held in Minden

    Commencement Ceremony For Central Nebraska Drug Court Held in Minden

    November 20, 2017
    The Central Nebraska Drug Court held a ceremony and celebration on November 14, 2017, at the Windmill Center in Minden, Nebraska where Nebraska State Senator John Kuehn delivered the graduation ceremony keynote address. For Drug Court graduates, the ceremony marks the completion of an intensive program of comprehensive treatment, intense community-based supervision, cognitive programming and judicial oversight. There were 28 graduates from Phelps, Buffalo, Kearney, Adams and Hall Counties. Drug...Read more

    Barb Finn, Clerk Magistrate of the Antelope County Court to Retire December 2017

    Barb Finn, Clerk Magistrate of the Antelope County Court to Retire December 2017

    November 16, 2017
    Antelope County Court Clerk Magistrate Barb Finn submitted her notice of retirement effective December 29, 2017, after nearly 45 years of service to the Judicial Branch. According to Judge Donna Taylor of Neligh, "Barb was the Clerk Magistrate when I arrived in Neligh, Nebraska, as a young inexperienced lawyer 33 years ago. She operated her court office with certain expectations of the lawyers and we young lawyers respected and attempted to meet those expectations.” Taylor continued, “Over the...Read more

    Beatrice Probation Office Honors Local Heroes

    Beatrice Probation Office Honors Local Heroes

    November 8, 2017
    On November 2, 2017 the District 1 Probation office in Beatrice held a ceremony to commemorate two individuals who both made a big impact in their community. The probation office named two rooms in their reporting center in honor of Gage County’s first probation officer, Cliff Wolf, Jr., and Jeremy Wach, a volunteer firefighter and member of the Gage County Sheriff’s Office. The ceremony was led by District 1 Chief Probation Officer Jeremy Behrends and was well attended by family, friends, co-...Read more

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