Court Tours

Supreme Court Doors



The doors to the Supreme Court Chamber are bordered by carved medallions of corn, anvils and sunflowers alternating around the casing. The windows are covered with grill work of the Scales of Justice with Roman fasces.

Supreme Court Ceiling



Inside the courtroom is a walnut ceiling containing over 8,000 separate pieces of walnut. The pieces were manufactured in Boston, Massachusetts, and shipped to Lincoln where they were assembled and suspended from the ceiling above. Designs of corn and acorns are painted in gold and blue.

Supreme Court Bench



At the front of the room is the judges' bench which seats the seven Supreme Court justices. The panel in front of the bench is solid American walnut inlaid with seventeen different kinds of wood. The wall in back of the bench is also paneled in walnut. An inscription taken from Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, is inlaid in the border above the bench: EYES AND EARS ARE POOR WITNESSES WHEN THE SOUL IS BARBAROUS.

Seal



Above the paneling, carved in the stone is a variation of the state seal which Bertram Goodhue designed for Nebraska. It was never adopted by the legislature. The seal consists of a bison head atop three books of law placed on a helmet and a shield of armor, on the face of which is the Roman fasces balancing the Scales of Justice. At the base of the shield is a scroll interwoven with goldenrod, the state's flower, and contains the state's motto: EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW.

Lights



North Wall

West Wall

South Wall

There is one large central light fixture in the Supreme Court Chamber and a number of smaller ones on the sidewalls. The small ones feature the Roman fasces, each with a cluster of five lights. Each fixture denotes a branch of government: North wall - the written law (the Ten Commandments); West wall - interpretation of the law (Scales of Justice); South wall - administration of the law (flaming sword and the oak leaf). Together these symbols stand for powerful unity of law.

Tapestries

There are three large tapestries which hang on the North and West walls of the Chamber. On the West wall is RIVER TRAFFIC. The North wall holds AGRICULTURE, MANUEL LISA and the OVERLAND TRAIL.



River Traffic - (Steamboat Yellowstone) The first voyage of the Steamboat Yellowstone to the upper waters of the Missouri River. In the background is Citadel Rock on the upper Missouri.

An original design by Lorentz Kleiser, cartooned and woven by hand, with vegetable-died material.

Supreme Court Consultation Room



Behind the Chamber is the justice's consultation room. The room is finished in ash wood wainscoting, tinted plaster walls and oak floors. Here is where the judges make decisions to the cases which are tried before them.

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals

Across the hallway from the Supreme Court is the Court of Appeals. The floor of this room has a checked design in two kinds of marble. The room is finished in high wainscoting of paneled walnut. On the face of the judges' bench is a hand carving of the Roman fasces balancing the Scales of Justice with a scroll of Nebraska's motto, EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW. The Court of Appeals adopted the scales from the front of the bench as their official court seal.

Appeals Court Ceiling



The ceiling has large walnut beams, the walls are covered with a hand-stencilled floral motif. The light fixtures have arrow heads and arrow shafts as their main design; the yellow light bulbs are in the shape of half-husked ears of corn.

Court of Appeals Consultation Room



Behind the bench is a doorway leading to the judges' consultation room. This is where judges meet to decide and schedule cases. The plaster walls are painted their original tan, and photographs of "Justice" and "Mercy" from the exterior of the building decorate the walls.

Lawyer's Room



Down the hall from the Court of Appeals and directly behind the Supreme Court is the lawyer's consultation room. The room has a speaker system connected to the courtroom so that lawyers may listen to proceedings in the courtroom while they wait for their cases to be heard.

Lawyer's Room Ceiling



The ceiling is finished in designs of white plaster relief. A medallion to the North portrays Poseidon with the trident bearing the Roman fasces inscribed with INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION; to the South is the image of Mercury carrying the cadeceus and the fasces against a background of the United States Capitol and the Nebraska State Capitol Building inscribed with INTERSTATE REPRESENTATION. On the ceiling around the electric light fixture to the West are the Scales of Justice with the symbol of a lion's head and inscribed with JUSTICE, COURAGE; to the East is an open book with stars and the inscription: WISDOM, TRUTH.