48 Nebraska judges face an up-or-down vote to stay in office after 2026

LINCOLN — Forty-eight Nebraska judges face an up-or-down vote this November on whether they can stay in office through 2032, including two Workers’ Compensation Court judges who serve statewide.

Depending on the county where they live, Nebraska voters will see at least two judges and as many as 15 on their ballots. The most are in Nebraska’s most populous county, Douglas, which is Judicial District 4. State law provides that district with the most judges.

No Supreme Court justices face retention this November. Only Court of Appeals Judge Michael W. Pirtle of Omaha, who represents part of Douglas County, faces retention for his court.

In addition to Pirtle, the Nov. 3 ballot will include:

• Two Workers’ Compensation court judges (Judges Thomas E. Stine and Dirk V. Block).
• Twenty-three district court judges (in nine of 12 judicial districts).
• Two separate juvenile courts (in Douglas and Sarpy counties, but not Lancaster County).
• Twenty county court judges (in 11 of 12 judicial districts).

Since 1964, judges have gone to voters for retention at the first general election at least three years after their appointment. Nebraska has nearly 150 judges in total. 

Current terms in office end Jan. 7, 2027.

The last time a Nebraska judge was not retained in office was in 2008. If allowed to stay in office, judges would serve until January 2033 and could file for retention again in 2032.

Who’s who of judges

Judges in Nebraska are arranged at different levels, consisting of county courts, district courts, separate juvenile courts (in Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties), the Nebraska Court of Appeals and the Nebraska Supreme Court. There is also the six-member, statewide Workers’ Compensation Court. 

District court and county court judges sit in specific judicial districts (just two counties differ between the two court types, Otoe and Fillmore), while appellate judges sit in six districts as redistricted by the Legislature every 10 years. The chief justice and the workers’ compensation judges serve statewide.

Nebraskans who live in Judicial District 7 — Antelope, Cuming, Knox, Madison, Pierce, Stanton and Wayne — will only see the two Workers’ Compensation Court judges on their ballots.

18 first-time retention votes

This year, 18 judges face their first up-or-down vote. This includes the final 15 judges who ascended to office at former Gov. Pete Ricketts’ appointment, and the first from Gov. Jim Pillen.

Of the 48 judges, just one has been elevated to a higher position than their earlier position. That’s Sarpy County District Judge Stefanie A. Martinez, whom former Gov. Dave Heineman appointed as a county court judge in 2013. In 2017, Ricketts elevated her to the district court.

Martinez and 14 other Ricketts-appointed judges will face retention for the second time this year. Ten Heineman-appointed judges will face retention for the third time, while two Heineman appointees face retention for the fourth time. Three judges who joined a county court under former Gov. Ben Nelson in 1998, his final year in office, face their fifth retention vote.

The Nebraska State Bar Association each year polls attorneys who work before the judges. Of the 48 up for retention this year, attorneys recommended that all but one be retained in office.

Two judges did not file for retention

Two other judges this year were eligible for retention but did not file by the Aug. 3 deadline.

Douglas County District Judge Timothy P. Burns submitted his retirement this summer after 15 years of service. His last day is Oct. 30. He previously worked in the Douglas County Public Defender’s Office.

The other is Brown County District Judge Mark D. Kozisek, who was appointed in 2004. He’s a former city attorney for Ainsworth, Long Pine and Johnstown, and deputy county attorney.

Also retiring this year is Judge Vernon Daniels of the Separate Juvenile Court of Douglas County, effective Dec. 31. He’s served on the court since 2001 and was last retained in 2022.