The Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, Michael J. Heavican, presented Employee Recognition Awards on October 7, 2019, during the Nebraska Judicial Branch eleventh annual recognition event.

An Employee Recognition Committee selected ten individuals and two teams from 57 nominations. Candidates for the awards were nominated by judges, supervisors and colleagues in court and probation offices from across the State. The purpose of the awards program is to recognize Judicial Branch employee dedication, acknowledge exemplary contributions, and encourage employee commitment.

Recognizing Constitution Day, on Monday, September 9, with the Court of Appeals in Seward, NE involved a unique twist: A free continuing legal education event at Concordia University sponsored by the Nebraska State Bar Foundation and designed in conjunction with university faculty. The event focused on “Meyer v. Nebraska” and its ongoing relevance 100 years after the statute at issue was adopted by the Nebraska Legislature.

In an auditorium overflowing with both high school and college students, the Court of Appeals opened their morning session at Concordia college with the case of “In re Interest if Michael R” from Scottsbluff. Court of Appeals judges listened to arguments along with Judge James Stecker, Judge C Jo Peterson, and members of the Seward County Court staff.  Students from the college sat throughout the auditorium, among them were classes from Bellevue West, Seward and Centennial high schools.

The Nebraska State Bar Commission has received the Supreme Court’s approval of its recommendation for admission to the practice of law in the State of Nebraska for those having fulfilled all of the requirements under Rule § 3-117 for admission by examination. A swearing-in ceremony took place September 26th at 10:00 a.m. in the Rotunda of the State Capitol building with the following list of individuals as participating in the ceremony. 

Andrew Jeffrey Almodova

Kelsey Elizabeth Arends

Corey Ayala

Virginia Catherine Barden

Mark William Batt

The Nebraska Office of Public Guardian is announcing the launch of a new ONLINE Guardian/Conservator Education course. This course is designed to help people navigate the process of  guardianship and conservatorship in the courts and at home. Participants learn how to fill out court forms, promote the dignity and autonomy of a ward or protected person, and implement least-restrictive alternatives. The course costs $20 per person.

The Court Improvement Project (CIP) held its tri-annual Children’s Summit on September 11-12, 2019, in Kearney.

During the conference, CIP presented annual awards for judicial excellence, youth/family resiliency and Through the Eyes of the Child team excellence.

Award for Judicial Leadership

On October 1, 2019, the Nebraska State Library staff will be moving to a temporary location at Schmid Law Library on UNL’s East Campus for the duration of Phase 2 of the State Capitol HVAC renovation project. You can visit the Schmid Law Library website for directions and to search their online catalog.

Nebraska Supreme Court Justices will hold oral arguments on the South Sioux City High School campus on November 1, 2019, as part of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s outreach and education programming. (This is a high school program but will be held in the Middle School auditorium.)

Two arguments will be heard on November 1, beginning with an educational program at 10:00 a.m. Court arguments will be followed by an open question and answer session with students. Cases are selected to demonstrate the variety of legal arguments that regularly come into the court system.

Students from St. Michael’s Catholic School in Albion greeted justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court with patriotic songs before leading the adults in the Pledge of Allegiance. Judge Rachel Daugherty noted in her opening remarks that not a single day of court was missed in Albion when the spring floods washed out roads leading into town.  Judge Stephen Twiss assisted Judge Daugherty in providing a tour of the facilities. Chief Justice Heavican thanked the students and all who came to join the Court for breakfast in the courthouse. 

Boyd County Clerk of the District Court Tracy Reiser and Clerk Magistrate Cathy Reiman accepted awards on behalf of their respective courts for maintaining court services throughout the natural disasters afflicting Butte, Nebraska earlier this spring. Resilience Awards were presented to the district and county courts for their dedication to their communities following the 2019 historic floods. Despite the lack of electricity and consumable water, the courts were closed only one and one-half days throughout the ordeal.