Recently Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court Mike Heavican stopped in Box Butte County to speak with staff and elected officials at the Box Butte County Courthouse during a Supreme Court Summer Tour.
The tour of the state kicked off in Oshkosh, followed by a public engagement session in Scottsbluff. Another public engagement session took place in Rushville, followed by a visit to Chadron. Chief Justice Heavican visited Alliance before traveling east to visit the Grand Island VA Medical Center to view inpatient care facilities and sober living houses.
Chief Justice Heavican said that throughout the tour of the state, he heard of the need for effective legal representation.
“We heard a lot of input throughout the Panhandle and other parts of the State from citizens involved in the system who need and want competent legal representation,” said Chief Justice Heavican. “We also heard about the need for services of various kinds, but particularly the need for services in regard to child welfare cases and juvenile justice cases. We also received input about the increased need for technology in the courts.”
Chief Justice Heavican said by visiting local courts, they were better able to ascertain the needs of each of those courts, noting they learned a great deal about the kinds of services that would be helpful if they were available, especially in rural Nebraska. He also noted the need for services related to mental health and substance abuse.
“What we heard was perhaps not surprising, but we did hear that there is a great need for services in regard to mental health issues and substance abuse issues,” Chief Justice Heavican said. “Those issues particularly come up in criminal justices cases and in child welfare cases where assistance is needed to make sure that families can stay together if at all possible, or how to properly provide for kids if parental rights have to be terminated.”
The need for updated technology in Nebraska’s courts was one of the things that was most requested. Chief Justice Heavican said that they have a plan in place to upgrade technology in all 93 of Nebraska’s counties.
Chief Justice Heavican offered advice to people who are interested in pursuing a career in Justice, noting the need in rural Nebraska.
“One of things we heard about as we traveled through the Panhandle and other parts of western Nebraska was the need for young lawyers in rural areas,” said Chief Justice Heavican. “We also heard from both our probation offices and our clerks’ offices that there is constant turnover in those jobs and that we need more young people to work in those offices and other offices of our courts. My advice to everybody is to give employment with the courts a try. We have increased the pay for our clerks’ offices and are working on pay increases for our probation offices. We have instigated a program of hiring, retention, and referral bonuses to all of our employees.
“I would advise young people who are interested in becoming a lawyer to take part in programs such as the pre-law program the University of Nebraska College of Law has put together,” Chief Justice Heavican said. “That program allows you to make a commitment to potentially attend the University of Nebraska College of Law by taking a prelaw program at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Chadron State College, or Wayne State College. I would further advise graduates of our two law schools, the University of Nebraska College of Law and Creighton University School of Law, to please think seriously about practicing in rural Nebraska. There are potentially great benefits, and the possibility of holding leadership positions in law firms in rural communities is likely greater than it is in some of our larger communities.”