Annotation: Search for innovative methods by which persons may obtain quick, fair, and proper resolutions of their disputes in spite of the growing case load is stressed in this (fifth) annual report for 1978 on the structure and operation of the courts in Nebraska.
Abstract: Nebraska's Constitution vests the judicial power of the State in a Supreme Court, district courts, county courts, other courts inferior to the Supreme Court, three municipal courts in Lincoln and Omaha, juvenile courts in Lancaster, Douglas, and Sarpy counties, and a Workmen's Compensation Court. The Constitutional amendment of 1970 gave the Supreme Court general administrative authority over courts. Along with the administrative responsibilities, the Supreme Court's caseload has increased from 322 cases docketed in 1969 to 638 in 1979. To reduce the backlog, the court began sitting regularly in two five-member divisions in 1979, and other measures are discussed. Reorganization of the county court system conducted by the Office of the State Court Admininstrator, which is an adjunct to the Supreme Court, resulted in such improvements as uniform accounting system. Information on the financial responsibility, training programs, and management is included. Extensive statistical data on the district and county courts, judicial districts (including the district map), a diagram of the process of appeal, and a judicial directory are appended.