District Court Of Nebraska - Fifth Judicial District

District courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction and are organized into 12 judicial districts to serve all 93 counties of the state. Fifty-three district court judges serve these judicial districts. Although the district courts have concurrent jurisdiction with county courts, they primarily hear all felony criminal cases, equity cases, and civil cases involving more than $15,000. District courts also function as appellate courts in deciding appeals form certain county court case types and various administrative agencies. When acting as an appellate court, the district judges review the county court record of testimony and evidence in order to rule on the appeal. Most of district court filings involve domestic relations cases. Besides new domestic relations cases being filed, statutes allow past child support cases to be reopened to allow for enforcement and modification. (as of July 1, 1999) Each county in the State of Nebraska has a clerk of the District Court, performing the administrative duties associated with the court. Besides being the administrative officer of the court, the Clerks of the District Court are responsible for the record keeping and collection of child support payments, the record keeping of criminal and civil cases, maintenance of the court's dockets and processing judgments. Nebraska law provides that counties with 7,000 inhabitants or more are required to have a clerk elected by the voters for a 4 year term. The clerk also serves as a passport agent and is the ex-officio jury commissioner for the county.