Traffic Citations Can Be Paid On-line
ePayment of waiverable traffic citations is now available in 18 Nebraska counties (Boyd, Cass, Colfax, Cuming, Dawson, Hamilton, Holt, Keith, Knox, Lancaster, Merrick, Platte, Saunders, Seward, Stanton, Thayer, Thurston, and Washington). Using the new secure ePayment system on the Judicial Branch Web site, (www.supremecourt.ne.gov - click on the “ePayments” button) users of ePayment can pay their citations using Visa, MasterCard or Debit cards with the Visa or MasterCard logos. Individuals are assessed a transaction fee by the vendor. The ePayment system is intended to be more convenient for motorists, and help streamline the administrative process for the court system. When a fine is paid on-line, the court clerks do not have to re-enter the traffic citation payment into the system. The computer automatically records the payment the next business day and the user can print a confirmation directly from the system. City and municipal parking citations must be paid to local municipalities, although many cities have their own on-line ePayment programs.

Information Regarding New Parenting Act On-Line
The Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation has created an internet page for divorcing couples with current and 2008 information. Newly edited Pro Se divorce forms and forms mandated by the New Parenting Act will be available on-line before January 1.

Menu items include:

• Information on Nebraska's Original Parenting Act (elements and requirements of the Parenting Act in effect until January 1, 2008)
• The New Parenting Act (what is expected in 2008)
• Do It Yourself Divorce (link to the Self-Help page for individuals who are in agreement regarding children and own little property)
• Parenting Education through Mediation Centers (contact information for Supreme Court ODR Mediation Centers)
• Domestic Abuse (for individuals with concerns about their personal safety or the safety of their children)

Click here to see the new page or from the home page, click on Mediation (left menu) and Parenting/Divorce under Quick Links.

Contact Debora Brownyard, Director, Office of Dispute Resolution, 402-471-2766, dbrownyard@nsc.state.ne.us.

Community Based Intervention: Improving Sentencing Outcomes
Since 1990, Nebraska State Probation has offered Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP) to courts as an alternative for offenders to incarceration as outlined in Neb. Rev. Statute 29-2262.02 – 2262.05. Community Based Intervention is a transformation towards improving sentencing outcomes. Judges will receive detailed information regarding this improvement in April 2008.

Community Based Intervention is the highest level of supervision within probation. This programming complies with all current statutory requirements in regard to sentencing offenders to ISP, but probation’s approach to this intensive level of supervision will be evidence based Community Based Intervention programming. Community Based Intervention is intended to target high-risk offenders and have an overall impact on community safety. Officers will have smaller caseloads, so that they can work with the offender on completing specific interventions that address each individual’s criminogenic risks and needs. Community Based Intervention programming includes individualized case planning, cognitive behavioral groups, home visits and offender specific treatment.

As a first step, all former ISP regions will be operationally placed under the districts on January 1, 2008. The Chief Probation Officers will be responsible for the supervision of the Community Based Intervention programming and officers. Community Based Intervention complies with all statutory requirements, but will improve supervision outcomes for probationers in Nebraska.

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

Children in Court Study
The Nebraska Court Improvement Project / UNL Center on Children, Families and the Law received a grant from Woods Charitable Fund to partner with the Lancaster County Juvenile Court for a two-year study to develop judicial guidelines on children's participation in foster care hearings. The study will assess the perceptions and attitudes of children about court participation and will gather information on the impact of that participation on the court hearing process.

Contact Vicky Weisz, Research Professor, CCFL, 402-472-9814, vweisz1@unl.edu.

Back to top

Nebraska State Bar Foundation Announces 2007 Fellows
Six judges were nominated and inducted into the 2007 Class of Fellows by the Nebraska State Bar Foundation. The selection is based upon their dedication to improving the administration of justince in this state, their leadership in the legal profession, their civic service, their integrity and their Foundation Support.

The 2007 fellows are Hon. Alan L. Brodbeck, O'Neill; Hon. Elizabeth G. Crnkovich, Omaha; Hon. Marcena M. Hendrix, Omaha; Hon. John R. Hoffert, Lincoln; Hon. Mark D. Kozisek, Ainsworth; Hon. Linda J. Porter, Lincoln.

New Probation Personnel
Julie Micek, Reporting Center Coordinator, District #5, Bellevue, effective December 3, 2007.
Bonnie Gerrard-Wunderlich, Probation Officer, District #3, York, effective December 17, 2007.
Sara Garcia, Problem-Solving Court Probation Officer, District #12, Wilber, effective December 17, 2007. Kayla Kappers, Problem-Solving Court Probation Officer, District #9, Lexington, effective January 2, 2008.

Back to top

Mileage Rate to Increase
The Department of Administrative Services has announced that the reimbursable mileage rate will change from 48.5 cents per mile to 50.5 cents per mile effective January 1, 2008. Please use this rate for any mileage you drive on January 1st or later.

Abuse/Neglect Forms Available Online
Court order forms for abuse/neglect cases are now available on the Nebraska Judicial Branch Website. The court order forms are the result of months-long collaboration between the initiative and its advisory group, separate juvenile judges, the DOCKET committee and the Administrative Office of the Courts. Although optional for use, the forms contain language federally required by Title IV-E as well as other best practices language and considerations. To access the court order forms, click here. The Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative has also developed tutorials for use of the court orders forms. These tutorials are available on the Initiative's Web site here. Both court order forms and the tutorials are available to the public.

Supreme Court Rule Amendments
On October 10, 2007, the Court adopted Rules Governing the Unauthorized Practice of Law. View on the Judicial Branch Web site: www.supremecourt.ne.gov/rules/amendments/UPL.pdf

District Court Judges Paul Korslund and Dan Bryan have received permission to permit audio coverage of their courtroom proceedings by their local radio station. Their rules, found on the “Trial Court Rules Page” under District 1, were effective on an experimental basis as of November 21, 2007. To view the rules, click on: www.supremecourt.ne.gov/rules/trial-court-rules.shtml.

The proposed rule changes/additions are available at www.supremecourt.ne.gov/rules/index.shtml for review or a hard copy may be viewed in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals upon request.

Back to top

Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation – Year in Review
The Administrative Office is pleased to present to you a few staff-selected highlights from 2007. These items can be found in previous Administrative Memoranda, but are brought to your attention as a condensed review of this past year.

Outreach to New State Senators
The first project of the new year was to provide an orientation to the Judicial Branch for a large group of new state senators. With the assistance of many judges and staff, all newly elected senators were invited on courthouse visits and given information specific to their district. Follow-up materials were distributed to the senators’ offices that included informational pamphlets, fact sheets and brochures. Much of the communication focused on the budgetary needs of the branch, although general information was provided to those senators who had little or no legal background.

Children in the Courts
Staff members have been fully focused on the ‘Through the Eyes of the Child’ initiative, working closely with the Center for Children, Families and the Law, and judges with juvenile jurisdiction. Work is coordinated through the Administrative Office and the Chief Justice’s office so all programming aspects are supported in unison.

During the legislative session, the courts statewide celebrated Law Day on May 1. School children participated in activities ranging from job shadowing to essay writing. Law Day projects were developed in conjunction with the Nebraska State Bar Foundation’s Public Education Outreach Promoting the Law & Equity (PEOPLE) Committee. The PEOPLE committee also provided resources and an annual celebration for Constitution Day on September 17.

Following the legislative session, the Administrative Office went about the customary tasks of revising forms, writing procedures and issuing notices in order to bring the courts into compliance with new legislation passed during the session. The Office of Dispute Resolution undertook the most significant task of designing the implementation of the New Parenting Act. Materials for the Parenting Act are designed with the theme of "Putting Children at the Center, Not in the Middle."

Opening the Doors of the Courts
Projects opening courtrooms to the public through expanded news coverage began near the end of 2007 with experimental radio coverage in the courtrooms of Judges Daniel Bryan and Paul Korslund. Judge Burns began implementation of in-house camera coverage of selected trials in Lincoln, which will be fed to UNL's College of Journalism and the College of Law. These pilot projects promise to have a significant impact on the future use of technology in Nebraska courts. Successful court celebrations for Drug Court Month, National Adoption Day and Mediation Month were held as awareness-raising projects for the court system. Each celebration included thousands of volunteer hours on behalf of court staff, lawyers and community members.

Information Technology
The office’s newest project involves a JUSTICE case-scheduling feature that makes court schedules available to the public via the Supreme Court Web site. Currently there are 90 counties using and/or trained in JUSTICE Docket and Juvenile Docket applications. DOCKET is the JUSTICE application that is used real-time in the courtroom to enter case-related processes and data. A new DOCKET application for juvenile courts is being developed and expected to launch in March 2008. A total of 46 digital recorder systems have been placed into service across the state. The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Child Support Referee, along with 34 county courts, are using this new recording system. More digital recorders will be distributed to county courts in the spring of 2008. The new ePayment system is up and running through the Judicial Branch Web site. All courts will have the opportunity to provide ePayments in 2008.

Judicial Branch Education (JBE)
In addition to the judges’ traditional summer and fall meetings, grant-funded conferences on capital litigation and juvenile sex offender treatment were offered.

Using several grant sources, Nebraska judges traveled to a variety of programs across the country this past year on topics such as neuroscience in the courts, DUI, capital litigation and self-represented litigants.

JBE kicked off its Judicial Management Certification Program in December in Lincoln. Clerk magistrates and clerks of the district courts were welcomed to the first in a series of programs resulting in certification.

Probation’s training program has achieved many of the goals set out at the beginning of the year, particularly around the implementation of Evidence Based Practice (EBP).

During the first six months of the year, all officers were trained in the LS/CMI (Level of Service/Case Management Inventory) that is the core tool of the new assessment strategy. Officers were also trained in motivational interviewing, which provides officers with more advanced skills while interviewing clients.

Specialized training opportunities also brought probation support staff from across the state together for two days of training.

Rural Improvement for Schooling and Employment (RISE) Program
In 2006, Probation was the recipient of a Vera Institute Study of Intensive Supervision in Nebraska. This study focused on 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, Probation applied for and received grant funding from AmeriCorps in 2007 to fund staff in eight rural counties: Madison, Platte/Saunders, Adams, Hall, Lincoln, Gage, Dodge and Scotts Bluff. These identified areas were chosen because they did not have the employment and educational assistance programming of most urban areas. Research has shown this type of focus provides increased community safety, making the project a probation priority.

Problem-Solving Courts
The Nebraska Supreme Court now oversees 21 adult, family and juvenile drug courts, including the state’s first DUI court located in Scotts Bluff County. This marks a 10-year anniversary for Nebraska drug courts, the first court being established in Douglas County in 1997. More than 1,200 drug-addicted offenders will have been served in 2007. Several drug-free babies have been born, families have been reunited, and taxpayer dollars have been saved. Currently 10 of 12 judicial districts host drug courts, with the two remaining districts showing increased interest in establishing drug courts of their own. The Nebraska Supreme Court took an active interest in drug courts this past year with action on several key issues, most importantly the implementation of the “Supreme Court Rule Governing the Establishment and Operation of Drug Courts” that requires all drug courts to meet certain standards in order to establish and operate programs.

Back to top

Reminder to County Judges of Rule 59
The presiding judge shall be elected each year by a majority vote of the judges of the district subject to approval by the Supreme Court. Notification of the name of the individual elected as presiding judge of the district shall be given to the State Court Administrator no later than January 15 of each year.

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. The JFIS must be filed no later than May 1, 2008. The form is available in fill-in format online at www.supremecourt.ne.gov/forms/JFIS.pdf.

Continuity of Operations Plans
As of December 10, 2007, 54 county courts have filed the Continuity of Operations Plans with the Administrative office of the Courts. With severe winter weather well on its way, it is important that you have a Continuity of Operations Plan for your court.

Contact Bill Miller, Deputy Administrator, 402-471-3049, bmiller@nsc.state.ne.us.

Back to top

Judicial Branch Education Meetings/Trainings
June 4 – 6, District Judges Meeting, Grand Island
June 4 - 6, Official Court Reporters, Grand Island
June 25 – 27, County Judges 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
January 7 – 11, Week 1 New Probation Officer Training
January 14 – 16, Week 2 New Probation Officer Training
January 14 – 16, District 4 Policy/Case Planning Training
January 17 – 18, District 20 Case Planning Training
January 22 – 24, District 4 Policy/Case Planning Training
January 28 – 30, District 4 Policy/Case Planning Training
January 29 – 31, District 6 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 4 – 8, Week 3 New Probation Officer Training
February 4 – 6, District 12 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 6 – 8, Districts 7, 8, 17 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 11 – 13, Districts 2, 3 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 13 – 15, District 5 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 19 – 21, District 16 Policy Case Planning Training
February 20 – 22, District 9 Policy/Case Planning Training
February 25 – 29, Week 4 New Probation Officer Training
March 4 – 6, District 1, 10 Policy/Case Planning Training
March 5, Drug Technician Orientation
March 10 – 14, Juvenile Week of New Probation Officer Training
March 18 – 19, Data Analyst Training
March 25 – 27, Domestic Violence Week of New Probation Officer Training

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

Upcoming State Holidays
January 1, New Year's Day
January 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
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).

Back to top