In honor of Constitution Day, the Nebraska Court of Appeals will be in session on the campus of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, on September 15, 2022. The court session will celebrate ten years of the Court of Appeals College Campus Initiative, introduced in 2012 at Peru State College.

The judges will divide into their customary morning and afternoon panels with three judges each to hold arguments at 9:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. in the Kimmel Theatre at Midland University, 900 North Clarkson, Fremont, Nebraska. Chief Judge Mike Pirtle, a 1975 graduate of Midland, will preside over the morning panel, and Judge Francie Riedmann, who represents the Appellate Court’s 3rd District, will preside in the afternoon. 

The initiative, designed by judges of the Court of Appeals, is intended to allow Nebraskans to learn about the judicial branch. 

The Court of Appeals will hear three or four cases each session, followed by questions and answers from students. Students are given detailed descriptions of each case to assist in understanding the legal arguments. Midland University students and government and social studies classes from area high schools will be in attendance. All argument sessions, whether held in the Court of Appeals Courtroom or outside the State Capitol, are open to the public. 

The Nebraska Court of Appeals is the state’s second-highest court and reviews appeals from state trial court decisions. A Nebraska Court of Appeals decision is final unless the Nebraska Supreme Court granted further review. The six judges on the Court of Appeals handle approximately 1,000 appeals annually.
 

NOTE:

To make arrangements for student groups to observe Court of Appeals oral arguments on September 15, 2022, during either the morning or afternoon session, please email Mary Monahan at the Nebraska State Bar Foundation: mary@nebarfnd.org 

For information on audio recordings of oral argument sessions at Midland or about the Court of Appeals traveling oral arguments, email Janet Bancroft

Online information regarding the Court of Appeals may be found on the Judicial Branch Website.