LINCOLN, Neb. — The process is underway to find a new county court judge in south-central Nebraska.

The Judicial Resources Commission scheduled a public hearing for Friday, Sept. 13 to determine whether a vacancy exists in the 10th judicial district. The hearing comes after the recent appointment of Judge Timothy Hoeft to district court to replace Judge Terri Harder, who retired at the end of May. Now, the commission will go through the process to possibly fill Hoeft’s spot.

The decision will be based on judicial workload statistics, whether litigants have adequate access to the courts, population of the Judicial District, other judicial duties and travel time within the district. The public can attend the hearing in-person at the capitol or via Zoom at https://nejudicial-gov.zoom.us/j/7860241424?omn=82818944709%C2%A0#success.

The 10th judicial district includes Adams, Clay, Franklin, Harlan, Kearney, Nuckolls, Phelps and Webster counties. Hoeft was based in Phelps County.

If a vacancy is determined, the Judicial Nominating Commission will adhere to the following timeline:

  • Deadline for Public Hearing: 60 days from time the vacancy is announced by Resources Commission.
  • Deadline for applications to be sent to Supreme Court chairperson:  21 days prior to public hearing.
  • Applicants' names released to press: 10 days prior to public hearing.
  • Deadline for sending selected names to Governor:  90 days from time that vacancy occurs.

Public hearing set to assess county court vacancy in South-Central Nebraska.