Nebraska State Court Structure and Federal Court Structure

Nebraska State Court Structure

Supreme Court

  1. Highest court in the state

  2. Commonly referred to as “court of last resort”

  3. Hear civil and criminal cases

  4. NE chief justice is Jeffrey Funke

Appeals Court

  1. Review cases from juvenile, county, and district court (everything but death sentence cases)

  2. Boring

  3. 6 judges on NE Court of Appeals (3 men, 3 women)

District Court

  1. Felony cases

  2. Large dollars in civil court cases (over $70,000)

  3. Sentences include death, prison, and probation (most popular)

County Court

  1. Misdemeanor cases (traffic makes up most of the cases)

  2. Civil cases (damages under $70,000)

  3. Sentences include up to 1 year in jail/and or probation (most popular)

Juvenile Court

  1. 3 separate juvenile courts in NE - Sarpy, Douglas, and Lancaster

  2. Probation and group homes most common disposition

  3. Juveniles cannot be sentenced to jail

Federal Court Structure

United States Supreme Court

  1. Hear 60 cases a year/cases that affect all of America

  2. 8 justices and 1 chief justice (John Roberts)

  3. Protector of the constitution

United States Appeals Court

  1. Mostly review alleged errors of U.S. District Court

  2. Nebraska’s U.S. Court of Appeals is in St. Louis

  3. Screen cases for the U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court

  1. Hear civil/criminal cases - immigration and drugs

  2. Workhorses of the federal court system

  3. 94 U.S. District Courts