State of the Judiciary Offers Insights into Judicial Branch through Program Highlights
In his first State of the Judiciary message Chief Justice Mike Heavican showcased recent projects and programs of the judicial branch to the Nebraska Unicameral and viewers tuning into the address via educational television.

Remarking that the judiciary, the Third Branch of government, is often the least understood of the branches, he offered a glimpse into the administration of the courts through a review of statewide improvement efforts.

State of the Judiciary Text

Video of State of the Judiciary Speech (Windows Media Player required)

Preliminary Caseload Statistics

Legislation to Watch
The AOC is tracking about 125 of the bills currently before the Legislature; including 76 introduced since the beginning of this session.

Some bills of special interest to the courts include:

LB 772 would make the State of Nebraska responsible for courtroom security.

LB 775 would eliminate the requirement that deputies to Clerks of District Courts reside in the county in which they serve. It would also allow for appointment of deputies to county court clerks.

LB 804 would allow jurors to take and use notes during jury trials.

LB 884 makes possession of less than one ounce of marijuana a Class III Misdemeanor.

LB 1025 would require a hearing be set whenever an ex parte protection order is issued.

LB 1130 would move adult probation supervision to the Department of Corrections and create the Office of Adult Probation and Parole Services. It creates the Office of Court Services within the judicial branch. This office would be responsible for adult presentence investigations, juvenile intake, predisposition investigations and supervision of juveniles on probation. This office would also be responsible for adult and juvenile drug courts.

Updates on the progress of these and other legislative bills will be in future Administrative Memos as the session progresses. A complete list of legislation that is being tracked by the AOC can be sent to you through Sheryl Connolly, if requested.

For those with special interest in the legislative process, the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature Web site, http://nebraskalegislature.gov/, is a great resource which allows individuals to search bills/resolutions for this session, as well as past sessions.

Site navigation and background information on the legislative process can be found on a page titled "I'm New Here" (http://nebraskalegislature.gov/web/public/imnewhere) and includes four sections: Learn, Inform, Research and Participate.

Those following specific legislation may register for BillTracker (www.nebraska.gov/billtracker) where up to 15 bills may be tracked free of charge.

Contact Sheryl Connolly, Trial Court Services Director, 402-471-2671, sconnolly@nsc.state.ne.us.

Spring Break Job Shadow for Law Students
The UNL College of Law offers a Spring Break Job Shadow Program that is designed to enable law students to shadow attorneys in private practice, government agencies, the court system, or legal services and experience the law first hand.

The College of Law has invited judges and court employees who are lawyers to participate.

The program will run from Monday, March 17, to Friday, March 21, 2008. The total time commitment is up to the employer, but it is usual to commit either half a day or a full day to one or more students.

Your role, if you should choose to participate, would be to conduct business as usual and let the student(s) observe and possibly participate in your routine.

If you haven’t volunteered already, please register on-line at: http://law.unl.edu/career/springreg

Contact Janet Bancroft, Public Information Officer, 402-471-3205, jbancroft@nsc.state.ne.us.

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Probation Hires Data Analyst
New Data Analyst Joan Dietrich joined the Office of Probation Administration on January 9, 2008, and will be providing data research for probation.

Prior to joining the Judicial Branch, she served as a Data Process Applications Analyst with DHHS for approximately 15 years. She also worked as a Research Analyst and Budget Analyst for the Legislative Fiscal Office for 10 years and as a Research Analyst for the Department of Public Institutions.

2008 County Court Presiding Judges
The following county judges have been appointed as presiding judges for 2008.
District 3, Susan Strong
District 4, Thomas G. McQuade
District 5, Curtis H. Evans
District 6, Kurt T. Rager
District 7, Ross A. Stoffer
District 10, Robert A. Ide
District 11, Kent Florom
District 12, Randin A. Roland

New District Court Personnel
Rose Wiegert, Clerk of the District Court, Jefferson County.
Peggy Birky, Clerk of the District Court, Filmore County.

New Probation Personnel
Kelly Vyhnalek, Assistant Probation Officer, District #6, Lincoln, effective January 2, 2008.
Tara Wiles, Probation Officer, District #18, Juvenile, Omaha, effective January 7, 2008.
Timothy White, Probation Officer, District #18, Juvenile, Omaha, effective January 7, 2008.
Jennifer Reynolds, SSAS officer, District #5, Nebraska City, effective January 7, 2008.
Joan Dietrich, Data Analyst, Administrative Office, Lincoln, effective January 9, 2008.
Lynn Lee, Probation Officer, District #4, Omaha, effective January 14, 2008.
Robert Lee Curry, SSAS Officer, District #5, Bellevue, effective January 22, 2008.

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Judicial Resources Commission
Commission Reappoints Member
Hon. Robert B. O'Neal was reappointed for a second term to the Judicial Resources Commission on October 24, 2007. He will serve on the Commission until October 31, 2013.

Public Hearing to be Held
The Judicial Resources Commission will hold a public hearing to determine whether, based on the judicial workload statistics, a judicial vacancy exists in the office of district judge of the 3rd Judicial District, due to the retirement of the Honorable Earl J. Witthoff, effective March 4, 2008, and make a recommendation to the Supreme Court as to the principal place of office of said vacancy.

The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., central time. The hearing will be held via video conferencing from the State Capitol Building, Room 1525, Lincoln, Nebraska, and will include participation from the Panhandle Learning Center, 4502 Ave. I, High Plains Room, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, from the State Office Building, Room 207, Second Floor, 1313 Farnam Street, Omaha, Nebraska, and from the Hastings Public Library, Second Floor, 517 West 4th Street, Hastings, Nebraska.

Dispute Resolution Advisory Council
John Ballew of Lincoln, John Slowiaczek of Omaha and Mike Pirtle of Omaha were appointed to the Dispute Resolution Advisory Council on October 24, 2007, and will serve until December 31, 2010. They replace James Gordon, Linda Sanchez Masi and Joe Wright.

Judicial Ethics Committee
Hon. Sandra Dougherty was appointed on October 24, 2007, to the Judicial Ethics Committee until December 31, 2014, to replace Hon. Steve Illingworth. Effective January 1, 2008, Hon. John Steinheider is Chair and John Colborn Vice Chair.

Judicial Branch Education Advisory Committee
Justice John Gerrard was reappointed on October 24, 2007, to the JBE Advisory Committee until January 1, 2011. Hon. John Colborn, representing district judges, and Barb Pousson, representing county court clerk magistrates, were appointed with the same terms.

Minority Justice Committee Releases Annual Progress Report
The Nebraska Minority and Justice Implementation Committee, a joint effort of the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Nebraska State Bar Association, established to examine and address issues and perceptions of racial and ethnic bias in the court system, has released its annual Progress Report. The report is available on-line at: www.nebar.com/pdfs/mjic/2008/Progress_Report_07.pdf.

Nebraska Commission on Judicial Qualifications
The Commission on Judicial Qualifications (JQC) has released its annual report which includes 2007 statistical information. Click here for full report.

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Pay Stub Reviewing and Printing Instructions
All employees who use direct deposit for their payroll must sign into the NIS System to see their pay check stubs effective this month. Instructions on how to view and print your paycheck stub are below. If you are a supervisor, please make sure your employees receive these instructions.

To Review your Pay Stub
1. Log onto NIS (www.nis.ne.gov)

2. In the tan EnterpriseOne Menu box you will click on the following:

a. State of Nebraska
b. Self Service
c. Pay Stub Review and Print

3. Double click on circle next to the date of the pay stub you wish to review.

4. Click on the green “Select” check mark. This shows your pay stub. In the dark blue rectangle, it will say “Records 1 – 10.” If there are more than 10 lines (records) to look at, you will see a box to the right with >| in it. You will need to click on that box in order to see all of the records.

To Print Your Stub
1. Go to “File” at the top left-hand corner of your screen. Click on it.

2. Go down to “Page Setup” and a new box will appear in the middle of your screen. Change the following:

a. Orientation – change to Landscape
b. Margins – change left and right margins to 0.2

3. Click on the OK button.

4. Go to the “File” at the top left-hand corner of your screen. Click on it.

5. Click on “Print.”

6. A new box appears. Click on the “print” button in that box.

You have now printed your pay stub!!

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Changes/Additions to Local Court Rules
Trial courts wishing to submit local rules for mediation requirements (in consideration of the Legislature’s new Parenting Act), media broadcasting pilot projects, or general local court rule edits must submit drafts to the Nebraska Supreme Court for approval.

As a reminder, the Uniform District Court rules allow each court to recommend local rules concerning matters not covered by the uniform rules so long as they are consistent with directives of the Nebraska Supreme Court and Nebraska statutes. The County Court General Rules contain a similar directive. The Supreme Court provides instruction for separate juvenile courts and workers' compensation court in the Rule Requiring Approval of Certain Rules of Practice.

Rules are to be submitted in writing (Microsoft Word compatible format) and any language that creates a rule, or is to be added to a rule, must be underscored. Language to be deleted from a rule must be overstruck.

Local court rules become effective upon the approval of the Supreme Court, at which time they are filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and published on the Judicial Branch Web site under Trial Court Rules: www.supremecourt.ne.gov/rules/trial-court-rules.shtml.

Once approved, it is the obligation of the trial court clerk to make copies available to the bar and public.

In lieu of submitting a disk or CD, judges can e-mail rule proposals or changes to their representative justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court or to Janet Bancroft at the e-mail address below.

It is the custom of the representative Supreme Court justice to shepherd local rules through Supreme Court consultation. Once rules are approved, they are placed in final form on the Judicial Branch Web site.

Any courts wanting their local court rules viewable on individual Web sites should link directly to the Judicial Branch Web page.

Contact Janet Bancroft, Public Information Officer, 402-471-3205, jbancroft@nsc.state.ne.us.

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Office of Dispute Resolution
Nebraska Parenting Act
There are two new Web pages on the Nebraska Supreme Court's Web site with information, forms, and resources on the new Parenting Act. The pages are titled Parenting Act Information for the Legal Community and Divorce Information for Parents. These pages include electronic copies of the required Parenting Act Information Brochure; required forms such as the child information affidavit; courtesy forms such as the certificate of attendance at parenting education classes; and a list of approved parenting education providers. Additional copies of the Parenting Act Information brochure have been printed; Clerks of the District Court may contact Jan Malone at 402-471-3730 and request additional copies.

Contact Debora Brownyard, Director, Dispute Resolution/Rural Court Programs, 402-471-2766, dbrownyard@nsc.state.ne.us.

Interpreter Services
Interpreter Ceremony Held January 25 in Nebraska Supreme Court
In celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Nebraska Supreme Court held an interpreter ceremony on January 25 at 4:00 p.m. in the Nebraska Supreme Court chambers with Justice John Gerrard presiding. Newly certified Spanish interpreter L. Alex Perez took his interpreter oath and Nebraska’s Spanish language court interpreters were honored during the awards presentation.

Click here for full press release

Click here for Judicial News Special Issue on Interpreters

Orientation and Oral Exam Test Dates Set
The Supreme Court will hold an orientation program in Lincoln for all language interpreters on April 5 – 6, 2008. The certification exam will be given May 2 and 3 at the State Capitol in Lincoln. Information regarding both events will be included on the Judicial Branch Web site soon.

Contact Sheryl Connolly, Trial Court Services Director, 402-471-2671, sconnolly@nsc.state.ne.us.

Judicial Branch Education
Updates
Judicial Branch Education has received an $11,250.00 grant from the State Justice Institute that will partially fund regional trainings on "Dealing with Self-Represented Litigants." The training will be ½ day, with one section for clerk staff and one section for judges. Training begins April 21; registration information will be sent mid-February.

For a complete listing of Judicial Branch Education offerings, click here.

Contact Carole McMahon-Boies, Director, Judicial Branch Education, 402-471-3072, cmcmahonboies@nsc.state.ne.us.

Interstate Compact
New Interstate Compact Commissioner Elected
Ellen Fabian Brokofsky, State Probation Administrator, has been elected to fill the position of Interstate Compact Commissioner for Adult Supervision on behalf of Nebraska. She will be replacing Jim McKenzie, Parole Administrator, who is completing his three-year term. She will be serving as Commissioner for both Probation and Parole.

As Commissioner she will have voting privileges representing Nebraska at the National Interstate Compact business meetings.

Contact Kari Rumbaugh, Deputy Interstate Compact Administrator, 402-471-2855, kari.rumbaugh@nsc.ne.gov.

Rural Improvement for Schooling and Employment (RISE) Program
Nebraska Probation's move towards Evidence-Based Practices
In 2006, probation was the recipient of a Vera Institute Study of Intensive Supervision in Nebraska. This study highlighted two major factors that contribute to a "high-risk" juvenile or adult offender failing on intensive supervision probation, 1) lack of employment and 2) lack of education. Given this information, in 2007 probation applied for and received grant funding from AmeriCorps to support staff in eight rural areas whose primary function is to provide "hands on" assistance to probationers in need of employment and education.

The staff, "AmeriCorps Members," are located in the probation districts and assist the following counties: Madison, Platte/Saunders, Adams, Hall, Lincoln, Gage, Dodge, and Scotts Bluff. These identified rural areas were chosen because they did not have employment and educational assistance programming available. Reporting centers had previously been developed in the urban areas to provide such services. These rural areas were also in need of support and services which is why Nebraska State Probation took the lead in developing the RISE Program.

The members have started networking with schools and employers and probation has found that 39 offenders have maintained or attained employment and 15 offenders have attained their GED or post-high school education. Nebraska State Probation has learned that due to the innovation of this grant on a national level, it will be moved to competitive funding. The RISE Program has been awarded funding for the grant year 2008-2009 to continue the move toward reduction of recidivism through improved education and employment opportunities for offenders in rural areas.

Contact Kari Rumbaugh, Deputy Interstate Compact Administrator, 402-471-2855, kari.rumbaugh@nsc.ne.gov.

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Grant Received to Translate Court Forms
The Minority Justice Committee in conjunction with the Interpreter Advisory Committee received a grant for $25,000 from Woods Charitable Fund to have all appropriate civil and pro se (self-represented litigants) court forms translated into a bilingual format for the most commonly requested languages: Spanish, Vietnamese and Arabic. The objective of this initiative is to improve the justice system’s capacity to serve limited- and non-English speakers in civil and pro se matters.

Contact Liz Neeley, Minority Justice Committee Project Coordinator, 402-475-7091, lneeley@nebar.com.

Judicial Financial Interest Statement
All judges, full-time clerk magistrates and child support referees are required to file a Judicial Financial Interest Statement for the year ending December 31, 2007, no later than May 1, 2008. The form is available in a “fill-in” format on the Judicial Branch’s Web site at www.supremecourt.ne.gov/forms/JFIS.pdf. Please complete and return to: Marcie Luhman, Administrative Office of the Courts, P.O. Box 98910, Lincoln, NE 68509-8910. Your form will be date-stamped when it is received and filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

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Judicial Branch Education Meetings/Trainings
April 11, Appellate Judges Spring Education Conference
April 21, Assisting Self-Represented Litigants (Court Staff), Kearney
April 21, Self-Represented Litigants/Probation and the Courts Update (County and District Judges), Kearney
April 22, Assisting Self-Represented Litigants (Court Staff), Ogallala
April 22, Self-Represented Litigants/Probation and the Courts Update (County and District Judges), Ogallala
April 23, Assisting Self-Represented Litigants (Court Staff), Valentine
April 23, Self-Represented Litigants/Probation and the Courts Update (County and District Judges), Valentine
April 29, Assisting Self-Represented Litigants (Court Staff), Lincoln/Omaha
April 29, Self-Represented Litigants/Probation and the Courts Update (County and District Judges), Omaha/Lincoln
June 4 – 6, District Judges' Meeting, Grand Island
June 4 – 6, Official Court Reporters' Meeting, Grand Island
June 4 – 6, Clerks of the District Court Meeting, Hastings
June 4 – 7, Separate Juvenile Judges' Meeting, Grand Island
June 25 – 27, County Judges' Meeting, Omaha
June 26 , DUI Training for County and District Judges, Omaha (formerly scheduled April 10)
October 7 – 8, Clerk Magistrates Meeting, Omaha
October 22 – 24, Judges' Fall Education Meeting, Omaha

Contact Carole McMahon-Boies, Director, JBE, 402-471-3072, cmcmahonboies@nsc.state.ne.us.

Probation Education Meetings/Trainings
February 4 – 8, New Probation Officer Training, Lincoln
February 4 – 6, Policy/Case Planning Training, Beatrice
February 6 – 8, Policy/Case Planning Training, Grand Island
February 11 – 13, Policy/Case Planning Training, Columbus
February 13 – 15, Policy/Case Planning Training, La Vista
February 19 – 21, Policy Case Planning Training, Fremont
February 20 – 22, Policy/Case Planning Training, North Platte
February 25 – 29, New Probation Officer Training, Grand Island
March 4 – 6, Policy/Case Planning Training, Scottsbluff
March 5, Drug Technician Orientation, Lincoln
March 10 – 14, Juvenile Week of New Probation Officer Training, Lincoln
March 18 – 19, Data Analyst Training
March 25 – 27, New Probation Officer Training, Lincoln

Contact Monica Miles-Steffens, Probation Education Manager, 402-471-4486, monica.miles-steffens@nsc.ne.gov.

Upcoming State Holidays
February 18, Presidents' Day
April 25, Arbor Day
May 26, Memorial Day
July 4, Independence Day
September 1, Labor Day
October 13, Columbus Day
November 11, Veteran's Day
November 27 – 28, Thanksgiving Day & Friday following
December 25, Christmas Day

Filing and Reporting Requirements
•Statement for Payment of Interpreters: Interpreter to submit between the 1st and 7th day of each month.
• Judges’ Cases Under Advisement Reports: Due by the 5th day of each month (reports are compiled and submitted to the Supreme Court).
• Court Reporter Timesheets: Due by the 5th day of each month (judges are to sign time sheets prior to submission).
• Permanently Assigned Vehicle Logs: Due by the 5th day of each month.
• Report of Probate Cases Pending: Due by the 10th day of each month.
• County Court Time Sheets: Due by the 10th day of each month.
• Stenographer Transcription Reports: Due by the 10th day of each month.
• Cash Drawer Short/Long Transactions (County Court only): Due by the 10th day of each month.
• Expense Vouchers: Submit on a monthly basis (rather than combining several months of expenses on one voucher).

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