Susan Kelly took her Oath of Office as Clerk of the District Court on January 7, 2021, after election to the positon by the voters of Morrill County. Kelly has prior experience working at the Community Hospital, the Bridgeport nursing home, the Bridgeport News-Blade and at Platte Valley Bank. She is also the Board Chair for the Village of Broadwater. She replaces Julie Schildt who declined to stand for re-election and vacated her clerkship at the end of 2020.Read more

The Office of Dispute Resolution has released the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Victim Youth Conferencing Evaluation Report. During the reported timeframe, 15 counties referred 290 cases to ODR-approved mediation centers with 217 of those resulting in a Victim Youth Conference. Victim Youth Conferencing (VYC) is a restorative justice process that provides youth and those they have harmed with an opportunity to talk about and understand the impacts of the youth’s actions. Together they determine how the...Read more

Jennifer Poppen began service as Hall County Clerk of the District Court on February 1, 2021. Poppen has been working at the court for nearly 20 years and has served as Deputy Clerk of the District Court. She replaces Valorie Bendixen who joined the Trial Court Services Division of the Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation in Lincoln. Read more: Jennifer Poppen named new Hall County clerk of district courtRead more

The Journal of the Professional Lawyer recently released an examination their study “Stress and Resiliency Within the United States Judiciary.” Nebraska Lawyers Assistance Program Director, Chris Aupperle, authored an article in the Nebraska Lawyer January/February 2021 issue outlining the sources and effects of stress on judges. Read full article: Life as a Judge – Examining Stress and Resiliency Within Our JudiciaryRead more