Nebraska District Court Judges Shelly R. Stratman and Timothy P. Burns of Omaha, Nebraska, were invited to sit with the Nebraska Supreme Court on September 1, 2022.

The judges heard arguments in the case of S-21-419, State of Nebraska v. Jorge A. Galindo. Appellant Galindo was previously convicted on five (5) counts of First Degree Murder, for which he received five (5) death sentences.  The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentences on direct appeal.  State v. Galindo, 278 Neb. 599, 774 N.W.2d 190 (2009). Galindo has now filed a claim alleging ineffective assistance of counsel due to prosecutorial misconduct, which the trial court denied.  He has now appealed the district court decision to the Nebraska Supreme Court.  Capital punishment cases are automatic and direct appeals to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Judge Burns sat in place of the Chief Justice, who was recused from the case, and Judge Stratman sat for Justice John R. Freudenberg, who was also recused.

Just prior to the Galindo case, Stratman also heard arguments in the case of S-21-885, Michael T. and Cathy D. Christensen, Individually, and as Parents and Next Friends of Chad M. Christensen, and as Co-Guardians and Co-Conservators of Chad M. Christensen, a Protected Person v. Broken Bow Public Schools, a/k/a Broken Bow School, District 25, a Political Subdivision of the State of Nebraska v. Beverly L. Sherbeck, Personal Representative of the Estate of Albert L. Sherbeck. In that case, the Appellant was a minor child and a passenger in a van owned and operated by Broken Bow Public Schools [BBPS].  The Appellant was not wearing a seat belt when the BBPS van collided head-on with another motor vehicle.  While the trial court found that Nebraska law requires the driver of a motor vehicle to ensure that children ages 6 to 18 are restrained by a seatbelt, the trial court also found that BBPS was not legally responsible for the injuries to the Appellant.  Appellant’s Petition to By-Pass the Court of Appeals was granted, and the matter was transferred to the Nebraska Supreme Court docket.

The Court session was held in the Supreme Court Courtroom of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.

Seven justices make up the Nebraska Supreme Court: Chief Justice Mike Heavican and six associate justices. On occasion, a justice must recuse him or herself from a case, and a judge from a district court or the Court of Appeals is asked to sit with the Supreme Court.