List of justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court

Following is a list of justices of the Nebraska Supreme Court:

Territorial Supreme Court justices

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  Indicates Territorial Chief Justice

Judge Began active
service
Ended active
service
Fenner Ferguson 1854 1857
Edward R. Harden 1854 1860
James Bradley 1854 1857
John Curtiss Underwood 1857[1] 1857
Samuel W. Black 1857 1859
Eleazer Wakeley 1857 1861
Augustus Hall 1858 1861
Joseph Miller 1859 1860
William Pitt Kellogg 1861 1865[2]
William F. Lockwood 1861 1867
Joseph E. Streeter 1861 1863
Elmer S. Dundy 1863 1867
William Kellogg 1865 1867

State Supreme Court chief justices

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Oliver Perry Mason, first Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court
 
Robert G. Simmons, longest-serving Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court
Chief Justice Began service Ended service Seat/district Appointed by
Oliver P. Mason 1867[3] 1873 Seat I Elected
George B. Lake 1873[4] 1878[5] Seat II
Daniel Gantt 1878[4] 1878[6] Seat I
Samuel Maxwell 1878[4] 1882[5] Seat III
George B. Lake 1882[7] 1884 Seat II
Amasa Cobb 1884[4] 1886[5] Seat I
Samuel Maxwell 1886[7] 1888[5] Seat III
Manoah B. Reese 1888[4] 1890[8] Seat II
Amasa Cobb 1890[7] 1892 Seat I
Samuel Maxwell 1892[9] 1894 Seat III
T. L. Norval 1894[4] 1896[5] Seat II
Alfred M. Post 1896[4] 1898 Seat I
T. O. C. Harrison 1898[4] 1900 Seat III
T. L. Norval 1900[7] 1902 Seat II
John Joseph Sullivan 1902[4] 1904 Seat I
Silas A. Holcomb 1904[4] 1906 Seat III
Samuel H. Sedgwick 1906[4] 1908[10] Seat II
John B. Barnes 1908 1909[5] Seat I
Manoah B. Reese 1909[7] 1915 At Large Ashton C. Shallenberger
Conrad Hollenbeck 1915[6][11] 1915 At Large John H. Morehead
Jacob Fawcett 1915[12] 1915 At Large (pro tempore)
Andrew M. Morrissey 1915[13] 1927 At Large John H. Morehead
Charles A. Goss 1927 1938[6] At Large Adam McMullen
Robert G. Simmons 1939[14] 1963 At Large Robert Leroy Cochran
Paul W. White 1963 1978[15] At Large Frank Morrison
Harry A. Spencer 1978 1978[16] At Large (pro tempore)
Norman Krivosha 1978[17] 1987[18] At Large Jim Exon
William C. Hastings 1987[19] 1995[15] At Large Kay Orr
C. Thomas White 1995[20] 1998[15] At Large Ben Nelson
John V. Hendry 1998[21] 2006[15] At Large
Michael Heavican 2006[22] 2024 At Large Dave Heineman
Jeffrey J. Funke 2024[23] Incumbent At Large Jim Pillen

All State Supreme Court justices

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  Indicates Service as Chief Justice for All or Part of Tenure

Judge Began service Ended service Seat/district Appointed by
William A. Little[24] - - Seat I Elected[25]
Oliver P. Mason 1867[3] 1873 Seat I
George B. Lake 1867 1884 Seat II
Lorenzo Crounse 1867 1873 Seat III
Daniel Gantt 1873 1878 Seat I
Samuel Maxwell 1873 1894 Seat III
Amasa Cobb 1878[26] 1892 Seat I
Manoah B. Reese 1884 1890 Seat II
T. L. Norval 1890 1902 Seat II
Alfred M. Post 1892 1898 Seat I
T. O. C. Harrison 1894 1900 Seat III
John Joseph Sullivan 1898 1904 Seat I
Silas A. Holcomb 1900 1906 Seat III
Samuel H. Sedgwick 1902 1908 Seat II
John B. Barnes 1904 1909 Seat I
Charles B. Letton 1906 1925 Seat III / District 3 Elected[25] /
Ashton C. Shallenberger
Manoah B. Reese 1908[27] 1915 Seat II / CJ
James R. Dean 1909[28] 1910[29] District 2 Ashton C. Shallenberger
Jesse L. Root 1909[28] 1911 District 5
Jacob Fawcett[30] 1909[28] 1917 District 6
William B. Rose 1909[28] 1943 District 1
John B. Barnes 1909[31] 1917 District 4
Samuel H. Sedgwick 1910[32] 1919[6] District 2
Francis G. Hamer 1911 1918[6] District 5 Chester H. Aldrich
Conrad Hollenbeck 1915[6][11] 1915 CJ John H. Morehead
Andrew M. Morrissey 1915[33] 1927 CJ
Albert J. Cornish 1917 1920[6] District 4 Keith Neville
James R. Dean 1917[34] 1935 District 6
Chester Hardy Aldrich 1918[35] 1924[6] District 5
Leonard A. Flansburg 1920[36] 1923 District 4 Samuel R. McKelvie
George A. Day 1920[37] 1927[6] District 2
Edward E. Good 1923 1937[6] District 4 Charles Bryan
William Henry Thompson 1924[38] 1931 District 5
Robert E. Evans 1925 1925[6] District 3 Adam McMullen
George A. Eberly 1925[39] 1943 District 3
Charles A. Goss 1927 1938[6] CJ
Francis S. Howell 1928[40] 1929 District 2
L. B. Day 1929 1938[6] District 2 Arthur J. Weaver
Bayard H. Paine 1931 1949 District 5 Charles Bryan
Edward F. Carter 1935 1971 District 6 Robert Leroy Cochran
Frederick Messmore 1937[41] 1965 District 4
Harvey M. Johnsen 1939[42] 1940 District 2
Robert G. Simmons 1939[14] 1963 CJ
John W. Yeager 1941[43] 1965 District 2
E. B. Chappell 1943 1961 District 1 Dwight Griswold
Adolph E. Wenke 1943 1961[6] District 3
P. E. Boslaugh 1949 1961 District 5 Val Peterson
Harry A. Spencer[16] 1961 1979[15] District 1 Frank Morrison
Leslie Boslaugh 1961 1994[15] District 5
Robert C. Brower 1961[44] 1967 District 3
Paul W. White 1963 1978[15] CJ
Hale McCown 1965[17] 1983[15] District 4
Robert L. Smith 1965[17] 1973[15] District 2
John E. Newton 1967[17] 1977[15] District 3 Norbert Tiemann
Lawrence M. Clinton 1971[17] 1982[6] District 6 Jim Exon
Donald Brodkey 1974[17] 1982[15] District 2
C. Thomas White 1977[45] 1998 District 3 / CJ Jim Exon / Ben Nelson
Norman Krivosha 1978[17] 1987[18] CJ Jim Exon
William C. Hastings 1979[46] 1995 District 1 / CJ Charles Thone / Kay Orr
D. Nick Caporale 1982[47] 1998[15] District 2 Charles Thone
Thomas M. Shanahan 1983[48] 1993[49] District 6 Bob Kerrey
John T. Grant 1983[50] 1993[15] District 4
Dale E. Fahrnbruch 1987[51] 1996[15] District 1 Kay Orr
David J. Lanphier 1993[52] 1997[53] District 4 Ben Nelson
John F. Wright 1994[54] 2018[55][6] District 6
William M. Connolly 1994[56] 2016 District 5
John M. Gerrard 1995[57] 2012 District 3
Kenneth C. Stephan 1997[58] 2015 District 1
Michael McCormack 1997[59] 2016 District 4
John V. Hendry 1998[60] 2006[15] CJ
Lindsey Miller-Lerman 1998[61] Incumbent District 2
Michael G. Heavican 2006[22] 2024 CJ Dave Heineman
William B. Cassel 2012[62] Incumbent District 3
Stephanie F. Stacy 2015 Incumbent District 1 Pete Ricketts
Max J. Kelch 2016 2018[63] District 4
Jeffrey J. Funke 2016 Incumbent District 5 / CJ
Jonathan Papik 2018[64] Incumbent District 4
John Freudenberg 2018[65] Incumbent District 6

Information Gathered from Slipping Backward: A History of the Nebraska Supreme Court, the Nebraska Blue Book, and History of Nebraska By Morton & Watkins

References

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  1. ^ Listed as an associate judge of the Supreme Court in Complete Session Laws, 1855-87, Vol. 1, Page 370. Declined appointment and did not serve.
  2. ^ Granted leave of absence by President Lincoln to join the 7th Illinois Cavalry. Served as colonel in the regiment from Sept. 8, 1861, to June 1, 1862. Resigned as territorial chief justice in 1865.
  3. ^ a b Appointed in 1867; elected in 1868.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Named Chief Justice
  5. ^ a b c d e f Returned to being Associate Justice
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Died while in office.
  7. ^ a b c d e Named Chief Justice a second time
  8. ^ Served Again 1908-1915
  9. ^ Named Chief Justice a Third Time
  10. ^ Served again 1910-1919
  11. ^ a b Served from Jan. 7 to 21, 1915; died Jan. 21, 1915.
  12. ^ Acting Chief Justice Jan. 21 to 25, 1915.
  13. ^ Appointed Chief Justice Jan. 25, 1915, to fill vacancy created by death of Chief Justice Hollenbeck.
  14. ^ a b Appointed Nov. 12, 1938, to fill vacancy created by death of Chief Justice Goss. Term began Jan. 5, 1939.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Retired.
  16. ^ a b Served as Chief Justice pro tempore from Sept. 18 to Dec. 22, 1978.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Appointed to fill vacancy.
  18. ^ a b Resigned July 31, 1987.
  19. ^ Named Chief Justice Sept. 2, 1987, following resignation of Chief Justice Krivosha.
  20. ^ Named Chief Justice Jan. 26, 1995, to replace retiring Chief Justice Hastings.
  21. ^ Appointed Aug. 5, 1998, to replace retiring Chief Justice C. Thomas White.
  22. ^ a b Appointed Oct. 1, 2006, to replace retiring Chief Justice Hendry.
  23. ^ Pilger, Lori (October 25, 2024), "Gov. Pillen announces pick for next Nebraska Supreme Court chiefjustice", Lincoln Journal Star, retrieved October 25, 2024
  24. ^ Elected in 1867 but died before he qualified.
  25. ^ a b Under the Nebraska Constitutions of 1866 and 1875, Supreme Court justices were elected by electors and not appointed by the Governor.
  26. ^ Appointed in 1878 to fill vacancy created by death of Chief Justice Gantt, then elected 1879.
  27. ^ Served Previously 1884-1890
  28. ^ a b c d Constitutional amendment approved in 1908 increased number of Supreme Court judges from three to seven. The governor appointed four judges, two to serve until successors were elected in the 1909 general election, and the other two to serve until successors were elected in the 1911 general election.
  29. ^ Served again from 1917-1935
  30. ^ Acting chief justice Jan. 21 to 25, 1915.
  31. ^ Was previously Chief Justice
  32. ^ Served Previously 1902-1908
  33. ^ Appointed chief justice Jan. 25, 1915, to fill vacancy created by death of Chief Justice Hollenbeck.
  34. ^ Served Previously 1909-1910
  35. ^ Appointed Nov. 16, 1918, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Hamer. Aldrich died March 10, 1924.
  36. ^ Appointed April 21, 1920, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Cornish.
  37. ^ Appointed Jan. 8, 1920, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Sedgwick. Judge Day died Dec. 20, 1927.
  38. ^ Appointed April 15, 1924, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Aldrich.
  39. ^ Appointed July 24, 1925, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Evans.
  40. ^ Appointed Dec. 29, 1927, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge George A. Day.
  41. ^ Appointed Aug. 9, 1937, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Good.
  42. ^ Appointed Nov. 28, 1938, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge L. B. Day. Term began Jan. 3, 1939. Resigned Nov. 8, 1940, upon appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
  43. ^ Appointed Nov. 18, 1940, to fill vacancy created by resignation of Judge Johnsen.
  44. ^ Appointed March 13, 1961, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Wenke.
  45. ^ Appointed Jan. 6, 1977, to replace retiring Judge Newton.
  46. ^ Appointed Jan. 31, 1979, to replace retiring Judge Spencer.
  47. ^ Appointed Dec. 21, 1981, to replace retiring Judge Brodkey.
  48. ^ Appointed March 24, 1983, to fill vacancy created by death of Judge Clinton.
  49. ^ Resigned to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
  50. ^ Appointed Sept. 1, 1983, to replace retiring Judge McCown.
  51. ^ Appointed Nov. 13, 1987, to fill vacancy created when Judge Hastings was named chief justice.
  52. ^ Appointed Oct. 14, 1992, to replace retiring Judge Grant.
  53. ^ Voters removed Judge Lanphier from the bench in 1996.
  54. ^ Appointed Jan. 27, 1994, to replace Judge Shanahan, who resigned to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
  55. ^ Pilger, Lori. "Nebraska Supreme Court Justice John Wright dies following lengthy illness". JournalStar.com.
  56. ^ Appointed Nov. 17, 1994, to replace retiring Judge Leslie Boslaugh.
  57. ^ Appointed April 20, 1995, to fill vacancy created when Judge C. Thomas White was named chief justice.
  58. ^ Appointed Jan. 27, 1997, to replace retiring Judge Farhnbruch.
  59. ^ Appointed Jan. 28, 1997, to fill vacancy created when voters removed Judge Lanphier from the bench.
  60. ^ Appointed chief justice Aug. 5, 1998, to replace retiring Chief Justice C. Thomas White.
  61. ^ Appointed Aug. 5, 1998, to replace retiring Judge Caporale.
  62. ^ Appointed April 26, 2012, to fill vacancy created by appointment of John M. Gerrard to the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
  63. ^ "Nebraska Supreme Court judge resigned after ethics complaint; sexual comments emerge | State and Regional News | omaha.com".
  64. ^ Pilger, Lori. "Ricketts' pick for Nebraska Supreme Court 'operating on higher level,' colleague says". JournalStar.com.
  65. ^ Johnson, Riley. "Newly appointed Lancaster County judge tapped for seat on Nebraska Supreme Court". JournalStar.com.
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