The following rule is adopted by the District Courts of the Seventh Judicial District for the appointment of legal counsel for indigent individuals charged with crimes of misdemeanors and felonies after January 1, 2015.

1. Counsel for indigent defendants shall be provided in accordance with Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 29-3901 to 29-3908. Attorneys shall provide legal counsel to all clients in a professional, skilled manner consistent with the Nebraska Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct. Each county’s public defender shall have first priority to be appointed for any indigent defendant in all criminal cases within the county. The rules set forth in the paragraphs below shall deal with the appointment of licensed practicing attorneys for the purpose of representing indigent defendants when there is no local public defender available.
2. Each clerk of the county and district court shall maintain a court-appointed attorney list from which attorneys shall be appointed to represent indigent defendants. Attorneys may contact the clerks in each county and district court and may request the clerks thereof to place them on or remove them from the court-appointed list. The list shall have a priority category as follows: the first category listing shall include those attorneys having an office located within the county of such appointment. The second category listing shall include names of attorneys having an office located within any of the counties immediately adjacent to the county of such appointment. This list shall be held by the clerk of either the county or district court and be open for public inspection upon request.
3. The clerk of either the county or district court shall keep a separate list of case appointments of licensed attorneys for indigent defendants except those cases where defendants are represented by the county’s public defender. The list shall include the name, criminal case number, and date of appointment of the attorney to the case. This list shall also be open to public inspection upon request.
4. The appointment of attorneys to indigent defendants shall be on a rotational basis, using the first category listing above. No attorney on the first category listing shall be appointed to an indigent defendant a second time without first ensuring that all attorneys in the first category have been appointed on cases or have been disqualified based upon conflicts. Attorneys in the second category listing shall be used when no first category listing attorneys are available. Any use of second category listing attorneys shall be on a rotational basis, as well.
5. Cases shall be assigned to attorneys of sufficient experience, skill, and competence to render effective assistance of counsel to defendants. Complex cases shall be assigned to attorneys with sufficient levels of experience and competence to provide adequate representation. Less experienced attorneys shall be assigned cases which are within their capabilities, but shall be given the opportunity to expand their experience under supervision.
6. The appointing court will generally appoint attorneys subject to the court’s sole discretion to make appointments due to:
7. The nature and complexity of the case;
2. An attorney’s experience;
3. The nature and disposition of the defendant;
4. The language consideration;
5. A conflict of interest;
6. The availability of an attorney, taking into consideration an immediate need to address issues involved in the case;
7. Geographical considerations; and
8. Other relevant factors that may be involved in the specific case.

  The Court may, in its sole discretion, vary from the rotational basis and may appoint any qualified attorney, whether or not the attorney is on the court-appointed attorney list. Nothing shall prevent an appointing court from skipping the rotational basis in appointing the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy on a case-by-case basis for any indigent defendant.

7. Judges shall monitor attorney performance on a continuing basis to ensure the competency of the attorneys on the list. An attorney may be removed from the appointment list by a majority vote of county and district court judges. If an attorney is under consideration for removal from the list, written notification shall be given to that attorney indicating the concerns with his or her performance giving rise to consideration for removal. The attorney shall be given the opportunity to respond in writing or in person before a final decision is made. An attorney who has been removed from the list may be considered for reinstatement by a majority vote of the county and district court judges, after the deficiencies contained in the notice have been resolved.

Approved February 19, 2015.

   The purpose of this Rule is to develop a continuity of operations “plan” to ensure the continued functioning of the County Court in the event that an emergency threatens or incapacitates Court operations and alternative Court operations, including the relocation of selected personnel and functions to an alternate facility, is required.

  In the event of a natural disaster, widespread pandemic, essential utility failure, hazardous material incident, major civil disturbance, terrorist incident, or any other event or circumstance which threatens the ongoing business of the Court, or the use of Courtroom facilities, the contents of this rule shall be referenced and implemented.

  A. In the event such situation exists, as referenced in Paragraph A above, it will be the responsibility of the County Judges, with the ultimate decision to be made by the presiding County Judge, to determine when emergency modified Court operations should go into effect, and ultimately, when normal Court operations should resume. Criteria for making these decisions shall include, but not be limited to:

  i. Consultation with the Nebraska Supreme Court, the Nebraska State Court Administrator, the County Judges of the Seventh Judicial District, and any other presiding District or County Court Judge in the State of Nebraska;

  ii. Consideration of recommendations from local, state, and national health departments or officials;

  iii. Necessary and relevant input from any Courthouse officials, including members of the county board of commissioners, the county attorney, the county public defender, county law enforcement officials, the Courthouse building maintenance supervisor, and any other local or state executive officer, fire and rescue official, hospital representative, or emergency management official which the Judges of the County Court deem necessary; and

  iv. Input from leadership representatives and members of the local bar association.

  B. The following list of judicial stakeholders shall be consulted by the County Court Judges, at their discretion, when planning and implementing any emergency modified Court operations:

  - County attorney

  - County public defender

  - Local bar association representatives

  - County Court clerk

  - Local county board of commissioners

  - Courthouse and community law enforcement officials

  - Courthouse jailer

  - Judicial staff

  - Local Probation Office

  C. It shall be the responsibility of the presiding County Court Judge, or any other individual designated by the presiding County Court Judge, to coordinate and facilitate communication with those judicial stakeholders, as listed in Paragraph C above, in order to plan and implement any emergency modified Court operation plan which is deemed necessary for the continued administration of law and justice, for the benefit of the general public.

  D. Mission Essential Functions is hereby defined as any function that is essential to the operation of the Court for the administration of justice and the affording of constitutional rights that cannot be deferred for more than a 30-day period. Any function not deemed “mission essential” shall be deferred, as per order of the County Court, until additional personnel and resources become available. The following functions are deemed Mission Essential Functions:

  i. Determinations of probable cause and the setting of bonds in criminal cases;

  ii. Preliminary hearings for individuals charged with felony offenses and who are unable to post bond;

  iii. Detention hearings for juvenile offenders;

  iv. Placement hearings for juveniles placed out of home;

  v. Domestic abuse protection order hearings, harassment protection order hearings, and sexual assault protection order hearings;

  vi. Hearings to determine good cause for the continuation of a criminal jury trial when a defendant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial has not been previously waived; and

  vii. Restitution of premises hearings.

  Additionally, the County Court Judges shall determine when and under what circumstances that any mission essential or nonessential function may occur, including, but not limited to, the following:

  i. Changing the location where any hearing or function is to occur;

  ii. Changing the date/time where any hearing or function is to occur; and

  iii. Allowing any function or hearing to occur by means of audio and/or videoconferencing technology, this is not in violation of any individual’s statutory or constitutional rights.

  E. Viable alternative facilities may be needed to relocate staff when an emergency threatens or incapacitates Court operations, or when Court hearings/trials need to occur at a facility or location outside the County Courthouse or County Courtroom. In that event, the presiding County Judge shall make arrangements for other facilities to be contacted and designated for such use, and also to make arrangements for any compensation necessary for such matters. Additionally, the presiding County Judge shall keep and maintain an up-to-date list of any and all local contacts and potential facilities that may need to be utilized for such purposes. The presiding County Judge may designate the responsibilities under this paragraph to any person he/she deems necessary for carrying out the duties outlined herein.

  F. In the event that any emergency modified court operations are necessary, the Clerk of the County Court, or any person he/she might so designate, shall be responsible for notifying any and all court users, legal counsel, interpreters, and jurors, as well as the general public, concerning the necessity of emergency modified court operations, how any future mission essential or nonessential functions of the court will occur, and when these are discontinued and normal court operations will resume. This will occur by the use of any postal, internet, telephone, news/media outlet, or any other form of information dissemination which the County Court Clerk deems reasonable and necessary in order to convey this information.

Approved March 23, 2022.

   In the discretion of the judge presiding, courtroom proceedings may be broadcast, both by audio and video, and may be televised, recorded, or photographed (hereafter collectively referred to as “broadcast”) under the following conditions:

  (1) On an interim basis, these rules regarding expanded media coverage apply only to proceedings over which Judges Michael Long, Ross Stoffer, or Donna Taylor are presiding,^[i] taking place within the Seventh Judicial District of the State of Nebraska.

  (2) Only members of the media as defined below shall be permitted to broadcast, record, televise, photograph, or otherwise broadcast those proceedings set out below.

  Media is defined as a representative of a radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission or a reporter/photographer member of the Nebraska Press Association.

  (3) The trial judge overseeing the proceeding sought to be broadcast, recorded, or photographed retains sole and complete discretion to terminate the broadcast, recording, or photography (without explanation or warning) at any time during such proceeding.

  (4) Cameras and sound equipment of a quality and type approved by the judge presiding in the case will be fixed in place in the courtroom with field of view of the camera and field of range of microphones being approved by the judge presiding over the proceedings. Other than the cameras identified herein, no other camera will be permitted in the courtroom, including a still camera, cell phone camera, or any other digital recording device equipped to take photographs or video recordings. The images produced by the camera in the courtroom should be of such a nature that still images may be retrieved.

  (5) The audio broadcast shall include only the statements made in open court and shall not include communications between counsel, between counsel and clients, or bench conferences between counsel and the court.

  (6) Under no circumstances shall images of, or statements from, jurors be broadcast, recorded, televised, photographed, or otherwise broadcast.

  (7) Jury selection will not be broadcast.

  (8) The following cases will not be broadcast: matters involving grand juries, juvenile court proceedings, any proceeding of a juvenile (persons under 18 years old),^[ii] child custody, parenting time, protection orders, and any other cases that the trial judge may determine.

  (9) The testimony of certain witnesses may not be broadcast. Those witnesses are as follows: persons under age 18,^[iii] a person who claims to be a victim of sexual abuse or sexual assault who will be called upon to testify about the abuse or assault, undercover agents, relocated witnesses or a confidential informant whose testimony is about the matter upon which the person informed. Any witness may make a request to prevent that person’s testimony from being recorded or broadcast by making application to the judge presiding over the proceeding indicating the reason the witness does not want his or her testimony broadcast.

  (10) Upon application of any party or counsel, the court may, in its sole and complete discretion (and without further explanation), determine to not broadcast courtroom proceedings or terminate the broadcast of courtroom proceedings.

  (11) Upon application at least 14 days in advance of a scheduled hearing that may be broadcast, the court may, in its sole and complete discretion (and without further explanation), permit other types of broadcast or recording equipment in the courtroom.

  The images and sound produced from the courtroom will be available to any broadcast media licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and any print media published in the State of Nebraska on a pool basis.

  The overriding principle shall be the guarantee of a fair trial to the litigants. Criteria may change from time to time based on factors which the court has not yet considered and the circumstances of individual cases.

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[i] Typically, these would include all county court proceedings within the Seventh Judicial District of the State of Nebraska.

[ii] This includes juvenile court proceedings, adoptions, guardianship/conservatorship proceedings in which a juvenile is the ward or protected party, and portions of proceedings in which a juvenile is a witness or victim and has been called to the stand to testify.

[iii] If the witness or victim is under the age of 18 years old, but has been emancipated by a prior order of a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other State, then such witness or victim will not be considered a juvenile for purposes of this exclusionary rule. Such a witness or victim may qualify for “exclusion” under this rule for another stated reason (i.e., emancipated minor as victim of sexual abuse or assault).

Approved June 15, 2016.

  A. Any remote hearing, whether by teleconference, videoconference, or both, shall only occur with prior Court authorization from the County Court judge presiding over the case. This shall include any hearing where either party, their legal counsel, or any witness desires to appear in Court utilizing these methods.

  B. The following types of hearings may occur by remote teleconferencing or video conferencing means:

- Criminal arraignments

- Criminal pretrial conferences

- The taking of or changing of plea(s)

- Non-evidentiary criminal pretrial motion hearings

- Criminal sentencing hearings

- Civil pretrial conferences

- Non-evidentiary civil pretrial motion hearings

  C. The following types of hearings may occur by remote teleconferencing or videoconferencing means, only by way of stipulation of the parties and by permission of the Court, at times and dates specifically set by the Court, and on a case-by-case basis. The Court shall grant permission for remote hearings at its sole discretion:

- Criminal preliminary hearings

- Juvenile detention hearings

- Placement hearing for juveniles placed out of home

- Harassment, domestic relations and sexual assault protection order hearings

- Criminal evidentiary hearings

- Civil bench trials

- Civil evidentiary hearings

- Witness testimony during any civil or criminal trial or proceeding before a jury or to the bench

  D. The following rules shall apply to all videoconferencing hearings. If any party, witness, or attorney appears before the Court by way of videoconferencing, they must adhere to the following rules:

- If the Court determines the quality of the remote hearing is not adequate for a full and fair hearing of the issues, the hearing will be rescheduled to a later date with counsel and the parties appearing in court.

- Any person who appears must be located in a room with any and all access doors closed and with no one else in the room, except with legal counsel.

- Any and all cell or landline phones must be turned off or disconnected at all times.

- There shall be no distractions from any family member, person, or animal.

- There shall be no television, movie, or any other electronic device turned on such that it provides distraction to the person appearing by way of videoconferencing or to the Court.

- There shall be no video or audio hearing that shall occur if appearance by way of this method violates a person’s right of confrontation or any other statutory or constitutional right.

- Attorneys shall be attired in ordinary business wear; all other participants shall be attired in a manner acceptable for an in-person court appearance.

- No person shall smoke, eat, drink beverages, or engage in other distracting conduct while the hearing is in session.

- Microphones of all participants shall be muted at all times unless it is their turn to speak or unless otherwise instructed by the judge.

  E. Any party may petition the Court and request a hearing, on the record, for relief from, or to amend the proposed procedures, as outlined in this Rule.

Approved November 23, 2022.