Nebraska District Court Judge John H. Marsh of Kearney, Nebraska, was invited to sit with the Nebraska Supreme Court on September 27, 2022, to hear two cases docketed before the Nebraska Supreme Court on that day. 

Marsh heard arguments in the case of S-21-985, Phyllis Acklie, Appellant v. Nebraska Department of Revenue, Appellee. After Appellant filed personal income taxes with the State of Nebraska as non-residents for the tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, she received notices of deficiencies from the Nebraska Department of Revenue.  As a result, Appellant filed Petitions for Redetermination of taxes owed, and both the Nebraska Tax Commissioner and the District Court for Lancaster County affirmed the notices of deficiencies. 

Marsh also heard arguments in the case of S-21-1030, Cheryl M. Mueller and Mue-Cow Farms, Inc., Appellants v. Jeff Peetz, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Lorine H. Mueller, Deceased, Appellee v. Margo Loop, Appellee v. Gary Mueller, Appellee.  Margo Loop, as guardian and conservator for Lorine Mueller, filed suit against Cheryl Mueller. After reaching an agreement, Cheryl Mueller confessed judgment in favor of Margo Loop, who was acting as guardian and conservator for Lorine H. Mueller, with a provision that neither Margo Loop nor Lorine Mueller’s Estate would seek to collect on the judgment. Subsequently, the trial court determined that agreement and judgment did not prohibit Margo Loop from pursuing a setoff against Cheryl Mueller’s distributive share of the Estate of Lorine Mueller. 

On appeal and on its own motion, the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered both cases be moved from the docket of the Nebraska Court of Appeals to its own docket. 

Judge Marsh sat in place of Chief Justice Michael G. Heavican, who was recused from the case. The Court session was held in the Supreme Court Courtroom of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.

Seven justices make up the Nebraska Supreme Court: Chief Justice Michael G. Heavican and six associate justices. On occasion, a justice must recuse him or herself from a case, and a judge from a district court or the Court of Appeals is asked to sit with the Supreme Court.    

Reporters:

September 27, 2022, oral arguments can be viewed on the Court’s archive.

• Judicial Profile for Judge John H. Marsh
• Background on the Supreme Court
• Justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court

Screenshot from argument session on Nebraska Public Media:

(L to R) Justice Jonathan Papik, Justice Stephanie Stacy, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman, Judge John Marsh, Justice William Cassel, Justice Jeff Funke, and Justice John Freudenberg. Arguing before the Court is attorney Clark J. Grant. Recording Court arguments is Allyson Stewart.