An eleven hundred mile trip involving stops in 24 counties is on the agenda for this year’s Chief Justice Summer Tour. Each year Chief Justice Heavican dedicates several days to traveling to courthouses outside of the Lincoln area to meet with judicial branch staff, tour courtrooms, and learn about individual projects. Again this year, several associate judges of the Supreme Court are joining the tour that will take them on a trek through Nebraska’s central corridor (see map). During the courthouse tours, the Chief Justice and fellow justices will meet with various county board members, lawyers, and community leaders to thank them for their dedication to their local courts and the judicial system.

According to Heavican, the purpose of the summer tour is to elicit feedback on ways to improve the court system, “It is important for us to get feedback from our local court staff, from judges, from community members, and from lawyers as to how certain programs are working, and what we might be able to do better for a particular community or in our statewide programs.” 

As a complement to the Chief Justice’s tour, the Supreme Court Attorney Services Division is offering free continuing legal education seminars in Hastings and O’Neill. Nebraska Probation Administration will host a reception for probation service providers during the O’Neill event.