How Does the Nebraska District Court Work?

Nebraska District Courts are general jurisdiction trial courts found in the Nebraska judicial system. District Courts have original jurisdiction over all criminal and civil matters tried in the state of Nebraska. The types of cases they hear include:

• Felony cases, and all lesser offenses included with a felony charge
• General civil cases (District Courts typically hear civil claims cases where the matter in controversy is more than $57,000. This amount may vary by district)
• Domestic relations cases
• Specific probate and mental health cases

Nebraska District Courts also have appellate functions, and they hear appeals from decisions reached by the state’s County Courts and administrative agencies. Appeals in District Courts are decided by reviewing the records and testimonies presented in the County Court or the administrative agency.

The 93 counties in the state of Nebraska comprise 12 judicial districts, listed as follows:

• District 1 - Gage, Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Richardson, Saline, and Thayer Counties
• District 2 - Cass and Sarpy Counties
• District 3 - Lancaster County
• District 4—Douglas County
• District 5 - Boone, Butler, Colfax, Hamilton, Merrick, Nance, Platte, Polk, Saunders, Seward, and York Counties
• District 6 - Burt, Cedar, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Thurston, and Washington Counties
• District 7 - Antelope, Cuming, Madison, Knox, Pierce, Stanton, and Wayne Counties
• District 8 - Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Holt, Howard, Loup, Keya Paha, Rock, Sherman, Valley, and Wheeler Counties
• District 9 - Buffalo and Hall Counties
• District 10 - Adams, Clay, Franklin, Harlan, Kearney, Nuckolls, Phelps, and Webster Counties
• District 11 - Arthur, Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Furnas, Hayes, Frontier, Gosper, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow, and Thomas Counties
• District 12 - Banner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, and Sioux Counties

When there is a vacant judgeship position in a district, a judge is selected through an application process that begins with a judicial nominating commission. This commission is composed of the chief justice or an associate justice of the state’s Supreme Court, four legal members elected by Nebraska’s state bar association, and four non-legal members appointed by the state governor. The chief justice or associate justice serves as the chairperson and is a non-voting member of the commission, while the other eight members are voting members. The judicial nominating commission announces the vacancy and also issues a notice of a public hearing to be held not later than 60 days after the announcement.

Any eligible party that wishes to become a District Court will be required to apply to the commission at least 21 days before the hearing. A qualified party is an individual that is at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States, licensed to practice law in the state of Nebraska and must have practiced for at least five years, either as a lawyer or as a judge. If appointed, the individual must also be a district resident and remain a district resident throughout service as a District Court judge.

A list of approved applicants for the position is published by the commission not later than ten days before the hearing. The judicial nominating commission may also recruit individuals that it feels will be suitable for the position. At the public hearing, interested members of the public are allowed to express their opinions of the applicants. The applicants are also entitled to either speak for themselves or have other parties speak on their behalf. After the hearing, the judicial nominating commission holds a closed meeting vote. The commission may choose to interview the applicants before doing this. During the vote, all voting members of the judicial nominating commission must be present.

The names of applicants that receive at least five votes are sent to the state governor, who then appoints one of them to fill the vacant judgeship position. The governor must do this within 60 days; otherwise, the District Court judge will be appointed by the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, also from the list of names submitted to the governor. Appointed judges must stand in a retention election at least three years after their first appointment, and every six years after that. The state of Nebraska does not have a mandatory retirement age for judges.

The age of disposition for Nebraska District Court cases usually depends on the type of case being heard. Decisions are typically issued not later than 18 months after the case is filed. These decisions can be appealed at the Nebraska Court of Appeals or directly to the Nebraska Supreme Court in matters that involve capital punishment such as life imprisonment. Parties that wish to appeal a District Court’s decision must do no later than 30 days after the decision was rendered.

Members of the public that wish to access Nebraska District Court records may do so online through the Nebraska judicial system’s JUSTICE court case search portal. Searches cost a fee of $15 per search. Copies of court records can also be obtained by contacting the office of the Clerk of the District Court at the particular court where the case in question was filed. Note that the payment of a fee may also be required before records can be obtained via this method.

Nebraska District Courts can be contacted via the following information:

Adams County District Court
500 West 4th Street
Suite 200
Hastings, NE 68901
Phone: (402) 461–7264

Antelope County District Court
501 Main Street
P.O. Box 45
Neligh, NE 68756
Phone: (402) 887–4508

Arthur County District Court
205 Fir Street
P.O. Box 126
Arthur, NE 69121
Phone: (308) 764–2203

Banner County District Court
P.O. Box 67
Harrisburg, NE 69345
Phone: (308) 436–5265

Blaine County District Court
145 Lincoln Avenue
P.O. Box 136
Brewster, NE 68821
Phone: (308) 547–2222 ext. 201

Boone County District Court
222 South 4th Street
Albion, NE 68620
Phone: (402) 395–2057

Box Butte County District Court
515 Box Butte Avenue
Suite 300
Alliance, NE 69301
Phone: (308) 762–6293

Boyd County District Court
401 Thayer Street
P.O. Box 26
Butte, NE 68722
Phone: (402) 775–2391

Brown County District Court
148 West 4th Street
Ainsworth, NE 69210
Phone: (402) 387–2705

Buffalo County District Court
1512 Central Avenue
P.O. Box 520
Kearney, NE 68848
Phone: (308) 236–1246

Burt County District Court
111 North 13th Street
Suite 11
Tekamah, NE 68061
Phone: (402) 374–2905

Butler County District Court
451 North 5th Street
David City, NE 68632
Phone: (402) 367–7460

Cass County District Court
346 Main Street
Room 303
Plattsmouth, NE 68048
Phone: (402) 296–9339

Cedar County District Court
101 South Broadway Avenue
P.O. Box 796
Hartington, NE 68739
Phone: (402) 254–6957

Chase County District Court
921 Broadway
P.O. Box 1299
Imperial, NE 69033
Phone: (308) 882–7500

Cherry County District Court
365 North Main Street
Valentine, NE 69201
Phone: (402) 376–1840

Cheyenne County District Court
1000 10th Avenue
P.O. Box 217
Sidney, NE 69162
Phone: (308) 254–2814

Clay County District Court
111 West Fairfield Street
Clay Center, NE 68933
Phone: (402) 762–3595

Colfax County District Court
411 East 11th Street
Schuyler, NE 68661
Phone: (402) 352–8506

Cuming County District Court
200 South Lincoln Street
Room 200
West Point, NE 68788
Phone: (402) 372–6004

Custer County District Court
431 South 10th Avenue
Broken Bow, NE 68822
Phone: (308) 872–2121

Dakota County District Court
1601 Broadway
P.O. Box 66
Dakota City, NE 68731
Phone: (402) 987–2114

Dawes County District Court
451 Main Street
Chadron, NE 69337
Phone: (308) 432–0109

Dawson County District Court
700 North Washington Street
Room E
Lexington, NE 68850
Phone: (308) 324–4261

Deuel County District Court
718 3rd Street
P.O. Box 327
Chappell, NE 69129
Phone: (308) 874–3308

Dixon County District Court
302 3rd Street
P.O. Box 395
Ponca, NE 68770
Phone: (402) 755–5604

Dodge County District Court
428 North Broad Street
Fremont, NE 68025
Phone: (402) 727–2780

Douglas County District Court
300 Hall of Justice
1701 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68183
Phone: (402) 444–7018

Dundy County District Court
102 7th Avenue West
P.O. Box 506
Benkelman, NE 69021
Phone: (308) 423–2058

Fillmore County District Court
900 G Street
P.O. Box 147
Geneva, NE 68361
Phone: (402) 759–3811

Franklin County District Court
405 15th Avenue
P.O. Box 146
Franklin, NE 68939
Phone: (308) 425–6202

Frontier County District Court
P.O. Box 40
Stockville, NE 69042
Phone: (308) 367–8641

Furnas County District Court
912 R Street
P.O. Box 413
Beaver City, NE 68926
Phone: (308) 268–4015

Gage County District Court
612 Grant Street
Room 11
Beatrice, NE 68310
Phone: (402) 223–1332

Garden County District Court
611 Main Street
P.O. Box 486
Oshkosh, NE 69154
Phone: (308) 772–3924

Garfield County District Court
250 South 8th Avenue
P.O. Box 218
Burwell, NE 68823
Phone: (308) 346–4161

Gosper County District Court
507 Smith Avenue
P.O. Box 136
Elwood, NE 68937
Phone: (308) 785–2611

Grant County District Court
P.O. Box 139
Hyannis, NE 69350
Phone: (308) 458–2488

Greeley County District Court
P.O. Box 287
Greeley, NE 68842
Phone: (308) 428–3625

Hall County District Court
111 West 1st Street
Suite 4
Grand Island, NE 68801
Phone: (308) 385–5144

Hamilton County District Court
1111 13th Street
P.O. Box 201
Aurora, NE 68818
Phone: (402) 694–3533

Harlan County District Court
706 West 2nd Street
P.O. Box 698
Alma, NE 68920
Phone: (308) 928–2173

Hayes County District Court
505 Troth Street
P.O. Box 370
Hayes Center, NE 69032
Phone: (308) 286–3413

Hitchcock County District Court
229 East D Street
P.O. Box 248
Trenton, NE 69044
Phone: (308) 334–5646

Holt County District Court
P.O. Box 755
O’Neill, NE 68763
Phone: (402) 336–2840

Hooker County District Court
303 Northwest 1st Street
P.O. Box 184
Mullen, NE 69152
Phone: (308) 546–2244

Howard County District Court
612 Indian Street
P.O. Box 25
St. Paul, NE 68873
Phone: (308) 754–4343

Jefferson County District Court
411 4th Street
Fairbury, NE 68352
Phone: (402) 729–6807

Johnson County District Court
P.O. Box 416
Tecumseh, NE 68450
Phone: (402) 335–6300

Kearney County District Court
426 North Colorado Avenue
P.O. Box 208
Minden, NE 68959
Phone: (308) 832–1742

Keith County District Court
511 North Spruce Street
Room 202
Ogallala, NE 69153
Phone: (308) 284–3849

Keya Paha County District Court
P.O. Box 349
Springview, NE 68778
Phone: (402) 497–3791

Kimball County District Court
114 East 3rd Street
Suite 10
Kimball, NE 69145
Phone: (308) 235–3591

Knox County District Court
P.O. Box 126
Center, NE 68724
Phone: (402) 288–5606

Lancaster County District Court
Justice and Law Enforcement Center
575 South 10th Street
3rd Floor
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402) 441–7328

Lincoln County District Court
301 North Jeffers Street
P.O. Box 1616
North Platte, NE 69103
Phone: (308) 534–4350 ext. 300

Logan County District Court
P.O. Box 8
Stapleton, NE 69163
Phone: (308) 636–2311

Loup County District Court
P.O. Box 187
Taylor, NE 68879
Phone: (308) 942–6035

Madison County District Court
1313 North Main Street
P.O. Box 249
Madison, NE 68748
Phone: (402) 454–3311 ext. 140

McPherson County District Court
P.O. Box 122
Tryon, NE 69167
Phone: (308) 587–2363

Merrick County District Court
Merrick County Courthouse
1510 18th Street
P.O. Box 27
Central City, NE 68826
Phone: (308) 946–2461

Morrill County District Court
P.O. Box 824
Bridgeport, NE 69336
Phone: (308) 262–1261

Nance County District Court
209 Esther Street
P.O. Box 338
Fullerton, NE 68638
Phone: (308) 536–2365

Nemaha County District Court
1824 N Street
Auburn, NE 68305
Phone: (402) 274–3616

Nuckolls County District Court
150 South Main Street
P.O. Box 362
Nelson, NE 68961
Phone: (402) 225–4341

Otoe County District Court
P.O. Box 726
Nebraska City, NE 68410
Phone: (402) 873–9550

Pawnee County District Court
P.O. Box 431
Pawnee City, NE 68420
Phone: (402) 852–2963

Perkins County District Court
200 Lincoln Avenue
P.O. Box 156
Grant, NE 69140
Phone: (308) 352–7560

Phelps County District Court
715 5th Avenue
P.O. Box 462
Holdrege, NE 68949
Phone: (308) 995–2281

Pierce County District Court
111 West Court Street
Room 12
Pierce, NE 68767
Phone: (402) 329–4335

Platte County District Court
2610 14th Street
P.O. Box 1188
Columbus, NE 68602
Phone: (402) 563–4906

Polk County District Court
400 Hawkeye Street
P.O. Box 447
Osceola, NE 68651
Phone: (402) 747–3487

Red Willow County District Court
502 Norris Avenue
McCook, NE 69001
Phone: (308) 345–4583

Richardson County District Court
1700 Stone Street
Falls City, NE 68355
Phone: (402) 245–2023

Rock County District Court
400 South State Street
P.O. Box 367
Bassett, NE 68714
Phone: (402) 684–3933

Saline County District Court
215 South Court Street
P.O. Box 865
Wilber, NE 68465
Phone: (402) 821–2823

Sarpy County District Court
1210 Golden Gate Drive
Suite 3141
Papillion, NE 68046
Phone: (402) 593–2267

Saunders County District Court
387 North Chestnut Street
Suite 6
Wahoo, NE 68066
Phone: (402) 443–8113

Scotts Bluff County District Court
1725 10th Street
P.O. Box 47
Gering, NE 69341
Phone: (308) 436–6641

Seward County District Court
529 Seward Street
Room 305
Seward, NE 68434
Phone: (402) 643–4895

Sheridan County District Court
301 East 2nd Street
P.O. Box 581
Rushville, NE 69360
Phone: (308) 327–5654

Sherman County District Court
P.O. Box 456
Loup City, NE 68853
Phone: (308) 745–1513 ext. 103

Sioux County District Court
325 Main Street
P.O. Box 158
Harrison, NE 69346
Phone: (308) 668–2443

Stanton County District Court
804 Ivy Street
P.O. Box 347
Stanton, NE 68779
Phone: (402) 439–2222

Thayer County District Court
225 North 4th Street
Room 302
Hebron, NE 68370
Phone: (402) 768–6116

Thomas County District Court
503 Main Street
P.O. Box 226
Thedford, NE 69166
Phone: (308) 645–2261

Thurston County District Court
106 5th Street
P.O. Box 216
Pender, NE 68047
Phone: (402) 385–3318

Valley County District Court
125 South 15th Street
Ord, NE 68862
Phone: (308) 728–3700

Washington County District Court
1555 Colfax Street
P.O. Box 431
Blair, NE 68008
Phone: (402) 426–6899

Wayne County District Court
510 Pearl Street
Suite 6
Wayne, NE 68787
Phone: (402) 375–2260

Webster County District Court
621 North Cedar
P.O. Box 250
Red Cloud, NE 68970
Phone: (308) 746–2716

Wheeler County District Court
301 3rd Street
P.O. Box 127
Bartlett, NE 68622
Phone: (308) 654–3235

York County District Court
510 North Lincoln Avenue
York, NE 68467
Phone: (402) 362–4038