A swearing-in ceremony for Kerri Irwin as Clerk Magistrate of Dakota County Court was held December 13, 2017, in the Dakota County Court in Dakota City, Nebraska. Judge Kurt Rager presided over the ceremony with Judge Doug Luebe participating in the event.

Irwin has worked in the court system since 2003 when she started as a Records Clerk in Dakota County. She also served in the positions of Courtroom Clerk and Assistant Clerk between 2004 and 2017.

Photo: Judge Kurt Rager signs certificate appointment for Kerri Irwin standing with Judge Doug Luebe.

Judicial Branch Annual Report for Fiscal Year July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, is now available online. The report will be presented to the legislature during the Chief Justice’s annual “State of the Judiciary” in mid-January 2018.

The report can be found here.

Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on November 3, 2017, Beatrice High School Principal Jason Sutter announced the transformation of the school auditorium into a courtroom – a Supreme Court courtroom -- where justices, along with Court of Appeals Chief Judge Frankie Moore, listened to two arguments, answered questions and discussed with the students some of their insights into the legal community.

Mike Nehe, Domestic Violence Program Services Specialist for the Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation announced that the project to update Harassment and Domestic Abuse Protection Order forms is complete. The petition and affidavit forms completed by the public have new instructions to assist them in completing the forms.

New Sexual Assault Protection Order forms and instructions as well as the Domestic Abuse renewal forms and instructions required after the passage of LB289 were completed in August.

Judges of the Separate Juvenile Court in Omaha surrounded Judge Wadie Thomas at his final official adoption day press conference to present him with a fitting parting gift – a big “adoption day” teddy bear.

The judge who brought National Adoption Day to Nebraska – Judge Thomas -- will retire just after the first of the year, January 2018.

On November 13, 2017, the U.S.

Fifty-Five Nebraska State Probation officers were officially sworn in on October 5, 2017 in the Capitol Rotunda by Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican.

Ellen Fabian Brokofsky, Probation Administrator, addressed the new officers, their families and fellow Probation employees noting that probation officers play an integral role in the administration of justice.  Probation Officers are officers of the court and the right arm of the court system.  They provide to the court two important services: investigations and supervision. 

Judge Leigh Ann Retelsdorf of the district court in Omaha and Judge C. Jo Petersen of the county court in Seward were given the Supreme Court’s highest honor on October 12, 2017, in Omaha.

Judge Retelsdorf was given the Service to the Community Award and Judge Petersen was presented with the Service to the Judiciary Award by Chief Justice Mike Heavican during the Court’s Annual Judicial Awards Dinner. The awards recognize members of the judiciary for meritorious projects and exemplary accomplishments beyond their day-to-day duties as a judge.  

A new scam has surfaced in Scottsbluff threatening fines for missing a non-existent grand jury summons.

In response to the ever-changing number of court collection scams being perpetrated against the public, the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division has offered the following guidelines for Clerks who find themselves in the position of answering callers who have received erroneous calls: 

As part of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s ongoing outreach and education efforts, Supreme Court Justices will hold oral arguments in the Hevelone Center on the Beatrice High School Campus on November 3, 2017, at 1:00 p.m.

The visit is part of a continuing effort by the Nebraska Supreme Court and the legal community to raise awareness of court processes and the importance of civics education to American society.