This Rule exists to provide direction to counsel, litigants, court staff, and other interested persons regarding: the maintenance in the District of open and safe courts in the event of an emergency; the mission essential functions of the court that are expected to be maintained during such emergency; the manner by which an emergency may be declared and terminated; the manner by which such declaration will be made known to court users and the public; and the nature and manner of such modified court operations.

  A. Definitions

  (1) “Emergency” means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.¹ This may include but is not limited to public health concerns, natural disasters, political unrest, weather events (i.e., blizzard, tornado, etc.), and unexpected absence of or injury to the judge (or such other event as determined by the presiding judge of the District).

  (2) “Mission essential function” means those functions that need to be continuous or resumed within twelve (12) hours after an event and maintained for up to thirty (30) days or until normal operations can be resumed.²

  (3) “Normal operations” means those functions of the court that occur in the absence of an emergency.

  (4) “Justice stakeholders” are those persons or entities that have a particularized interest in the operation of the court system as either users thereof or participants therein.

  (5) “Emergency Modified Court Operations” means those operations of the court system that are to remain in place and operational during an “emergency.”

  B. Determination of Emergency

  (1) Within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed seventy-two hours, of an event that may constitute an “emergency” as defined, the available District Court judges of the 12th Judicial District will consult and confer with one another.

  (2) This consultation may be in person, by telephone, or remotely through technology such as ZOOM or other similar applications.

  (3) The presiding judge of the District will consult with each available District Court judge to discuss the event and to determine whether that judge believes that the event constitutes an “emergency.”

  (4) Based on the consensus of these consulted judges and her/his own determination, the presiding judge will make the final decision regarding the declaration of an “emergency” and when to return to normal court operations.

  a. Should the event giving rise to the consultation be localized to one County or courthouse within the District, then the declaration of “emergency” determination shall be at the discretion of the District Judge that regularly sits in that County and if that judge is unavailable then by the presiding judge of the District.

  (5) The District Court judges may, but are not obligated to, invite other interested justice stakeholders into this consultative process to receive input from them regarding whether the event constitutes an “emergency.”

  a. In all cases, the decision as to whether an “emergency” shall be declared and all orders attendant thereto shall be within the sole and exclusive discretion of the District Court judges and the presiding judge of the District.

  b. It will be the duty of the presiding judge of the District Court to coordinate and facilitate communications with the stakeholders that he or she deems necessary to plan and implement emergency modified court procedures.

  (6) Should the event giving rise to the consultation affect the operations of the various County Courts within the District, then the presiding District Court judge will contact and consult with her/his counterpart County Court presiding judge. In consultation therewith, the two presiding judges may call for a joint consultation of all available County and District Court judges within the District.

  a. To the extent possible, the County and District Court judges shall reach a consensus regarding such declaration of “emergency.”

  b. This consultation may also, but not be required to, include such justice stakeholders as the presiding judges determine should be included.

  c. Should a determination of an “emergency” be decided to be declared, then the presiding judges of the courts should both issue such declaration.

  C. Justice stakeholders shall include, but not be limited to:

  (1) The judges representing the County and District Courts;

  (2) The Clerk of the District Court;

  (3) The Clerk magistrate;

  (4) The bailiff;

  (5) The Administrative Office of the Courts;

  (6) The Chief Probation Officer;

  (7) The County Attorney;

  (8) The Public Defender;

  (9) County Commissioners;

  (10) Sheriff;

  (11) Jail administrator;

  (12) Facility manager:

  (13) President of local Bar Association;

  (14) Public health officer;

  (15) Emergency Management coordinator; and

  (16) IT support staff.

  D. Mission essential functions of the District Court include, but are not limited to:

  (1) Arraignments of persons in custody;

  (2) Bond reviews of persons in custody;

  (3) Appointment of counsel in criminal cases;

  (4) Protection order cases;

  (5) Jury trials;

  (6) Acceptance and processing of new cases and/or pleadings;

  (7) Receipt and processing of arrest warrants;

  (8) Receipt and processing of search warrants;

  (9) Receipt, deposit, and accounting for money paid into the court;

  (10) Ex parte temporary orders in domestic relations matters;

  (11) Appeals;

  (12) Habeas petitions;

  (13) Bench trials; and

  (14) Any other matter as determined by the Presiding Judge.

  E. Dissemination

  (1) In the event that a determination to declare an “emergency” has been made and the court has determined to enter Emergency Modified Court Operations, then such declaration of Emergency Modified Court Operations and the subsequent return to normal court operations shall be made known to the court users and public.

  (2) Such declarations will be publicly disseminated through the use of local media such as newspaper and radio outlets, as well as through appropriate social media avenues such as the Nebraska Supreme Court website, other local websites, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

  (3) Court users will be notified directly through dissemination of relevant orders electronically, and/or by mail, public notification as described above as well as public display at the effected courthouses.

  F. Resulting Action

  (1) In the event that an “emergency” is declared under this Rule, then the affected Court(s) will begin to operate pursuant to the applicable Modified Court Operations Plan.

  (2) Such Plans will be electronically disseminated to all known court users effected by the emergency. These Plans will also be distributed to local media outlets to include radio, television, and newspaper reporting services. These Plans will be posted on all available social media platforms to include Facebook and any applicable websites. These Plans will also be publicly posted at or near the entry door to the affected courthouse(s).

  G. Administrative Orders

  (1) As needed, the presiding District Court judge or the senior District Court judge of the affected courthouse(s) may enter Administrative Orders outlining the Modified Court Operations Plan and/or any other such Orders as she/he deems necessary to address the specific needs of a particular courthouse.

  (2) Such Administrative Orders will be publicly disseminated as described above.

  ¹ Merriam-Webster

  ² Department of Homeland Security

Approved April 5, 2023.

   I. PURPOSE. This rule is to establish a process for the appointment of private attorneys to represent indigent defendants as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 29-3901 to 29-3908.

   II. APPLICABILITY. This rule shall not apply to criminal proceedings in which the court appoints the Public Defender, the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, or any other attorney under contract with the county to provide such services.

   III. GENERAL

   A. Appointments of private attorneys shall be made on an impartial and equitable basis:

   B. The appointments shall be distributed among the attorneys on a rotation system:

   C. Complex cases shall be assigned to attorneys with sufficient levels of experience and competence to provide adequate representation:

   D. Less experienced attorneys should be assigned cases which are within their capabilities, but should be given the opportunity to expand their experience under supervision: and

   E. Cases shall be assigned to attorneys of sufficient experience, skill, and competence to render effective assistance of counsel to defendants.

   IV. COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY LIST

   A. Each County Court shall maintain a court-appointed attorney list from which attorneys shall be appointed to represent indigent defendants in misdemeanor and felony cases (which shall consist of two categories; misdemeanors and felonies).

   B. Attorneys must contact the County Court in each county and request the Clerk Magistrate to place them on, or remove them from, the court-appointed list. Attorneys must set forth the experience that qualifies them to handle the level of case referenced in their request.

   C. The County Court shall maintain a misdemeanor list and a separate felony appointment list (Appendix 1, attached hereto, shall be used when requesting to be placed or removed from the court-appointed attorney list).

   V. METHOD OF SELECTION FROM COURT-APPOINTED LIST

   A. The Court will generally attempt to appoint attorneys from the court-appointed attorney list on a rotational basis, subject to the court’s sole discretion to make exceptions due to:

   1. the nature and complexity of the case;

   2. an attorney’s experience;

   3. the nature and disposition of the defendant;

   4. a language consideration;

   5. a conflict of interest;

   6. the availability of the attorney, taking into consideration an immediate need to address issues involved in the case;

   7. geographical considerations--in all cases, the court may appoint attorneys who are in closest geographical proximity to the court before considering the appointment of other attorneys in order to avoid travel time and mileage expenses, for the convenience of defendants in consulting with their attorney, and for the convenience of the court in scheduling cases for hearing; and

   8. other relevant factors.

   B. Attorneys may contact the appropriate County Court and request the current court-appointed counsel list.

   VI. REMOVAL AND REINSTATEMENT FROM APPOINTMENT LIST

   A. Judges will monitor attorney performance on a continuing basis to ensure the competency of attorneys on the list. An attorney may be removed from the appointment list by a majority vote of county and district court judges within the district.

   B. If an attorney is under consideration for removal from the list, written notification will be given indicating the concerns with the attorney’s performance giving rise to consideration for removal, and be given the opportunity to respond in writing or in person before a final decision is made.

   C. An attorney who has been removed from the list for any reason may be considered for reinstatement by a majority vote of the judges, after the deficiencies contained in the notice have been resolved.

Rule approve December 17, 2014.

 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 Judge Roland is presiding,[i] taking place within the 12th 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 employed by a recognized news outlet.

  (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 their 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, juveniles (persons under 19 years old),[ii] child custody, parenting time, sexual abuse, sexual assault, domestic abuse, child abuse, 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 19,[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, 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 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.

Approved August 28, 2013.

   At the discretion of the County Judge presiding over the matter, the 12th Judicial District County Court Courts have determined that, through the use of available technology, including telephone and cloud-based applications such as ZOOM and WebEx, certain types of hearings lend themselves to the use of such technology in the efficient and expeditious operations of the courts. Therefore, the County Court judges adopt the following Local Rule to govern the use of such technology.

  1. The Court, counsel, and litigants are expected to conform to all applicable state statutes regarding such usage.

  2. Counsel are expected to have the appropriate application (i.e., ZOOM or WebEx) available to them on a cellular device or computer or similar device to access the technology.

  3. Counsel are expected to forward any links or other connection information to litigants who are anticipated to participate by such technology and to ensure that such litigants have the applicable application on some type of device that will permit them to so participate.

  4. In general, the Clerk Magistrate’s office for the county will email the invites for hearings by WebEx or Zoom, or the meeting ID if by Zoom, for hearings on the court day before the hearing or the day of the hearing. However, judges are allowed to use a different procedure. Please check with the appropriate court’s Clerk Magistrate’s office if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter.

  5. Any party objecting to a witness appearing by videoconference must file an objection no later than three (3) weeks prior to the appearance, with a hearing for the same to be heard no less than (1) week prior to the appearance.

  6.Attached hereto is Appendix A which outlines hearing rules for the use of such technology in civil, juvenile, small claims, and probate proceedings.

  7. Attached hereto is Appendix B which outlines hearing rules for the use of such technology in criminal and traffic proceedings.

Approved October 26, 2022.