Judge of the County Court, First Judicial District, Curtis L. Maschman, is retiring effective May 31, 2022. Judge Maschman will have served 30 years as a judge in Nebraska.

In his letter to the Governor and the Chief Justice, Maschman recounted his appointment to the bench noting, “I owe a debt of gratitude to many who aided and supported me in my judicial career, in particular the staff of the courts in which I served. I will miss the daily contact with the attorneys who practice in southeast Nebraska. But, probably even more, I will miss the contact with the people of the District who came to Courts to seek justice. I hope all left knowing they had been heard and treated fairly.” He added, “It is difficult to leave a position that I truly love and that has brought me personal pride and great satisfaction.  But I leave knowing that the Nebraska Judicial Branch rests in the very capable hands of fine men and women who are of the highest integrity and who are dedicated to the rule of law and service to the public.”

As his legacy, Maschman leaves the judicial community with a carefully planned County Judge Orientation program.  Shortly following his appointment as judge, Maschman volunteered to chair the New Judges Orientation Committee committing himself to designing and refining curriculum materials and presentations for each new county court judge in the state.  Maschman has personally served as a mentor judge to numerous judges throughout the state.

In 2007, Judge Maschman was awarded the highest honor given by the Chief Justice, the Distinguished Judge for Improvement of the Judiciary Award, with Hon. Patrick McDermott, recognizing their innovation and assistance in developing several portions of the computer system used in Nebraska’s trial courts. He has also been named as a Nebraska State Bar Foundation Fellow.

Judge Maschman currently serves on several Supreme Court Committees including; Case Management Committee for County Courts, Judicial Workload Equalization Committee, Probation Services Committee, Technology Committee, as well as Nebraska County Judges Association committees; Judicial Education Committee, New Judge Orientation Program, Personnel & Budget Committee, and Probation Committee. 

After taking the bench in 1993, Maschman has been regularly retained in his judicial position by area voters, most recently in 2020.

The first step in replacing Maschman will be for the Judicial Resources Commission to call a meeting to determine whether, based on judicial workload statistics, his retirement creates a judicial vacancy on the County Court for the 1^st Judicial District.

News Reporters:

Judge Maschman’s judicial biography may be found at: https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/hon-curtis-l-maschman-0

Replacing a Judge in the Nebraska Trial Court System: https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/media/reference