Judge of the District Court, Richard Birch, is retiring effective May 31, 2022. Birch served as District Court judge in North Platte since 2011.  

In his announcement letter to the Governor, Birch noted, “It has been a privilege serving the citizens of the State of Nebraska and serving in the 11^th Judicial District.” He continued, “I want to thank Governor Heineman for entrusting this position to me. I would also like to thank each of the Clerks of the District Courts and their staff for the dedicated and professional assistance they have provided. But most of all I would like to thank my bailiff Patty Wonch… and my court reporter Muffy Morris.”

Birch served on the Nebraska District Judges Association Legislative Committee to which he was appointed in 2021.  

After taking the bench in 2011, Birch has been regularly retained in his judicial position by area voters, most recently in 2020.

The first step in replacing Birch 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 district court for the 11^th Judicial District.

News Reporters:

Judge Richard Birch’s judicial biography may be found at: https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/hon-richard-birch-0

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

Resources Commission information: https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/judicial-resources-commission/e-manual

Judicial Nominating Commission information: https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/attorneys/judicial-vacancy