LINCOLN – A district judge serving southeast Nebraska sat with the Nebraska Supreme Court Thursday.

 

Judge Julie Smith,  a former prosecuting attorney in Johnson County and general counsel for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, was appointed to a vacancy in Auburn in 2017.

 

In June of 2021, the judicial branch selected her as an everyday hero for enacting COVID safety measures and coordinating off-site jury selection, while introducing WebEx court proceedings in the district.

Here is the judicial branch press release:

Nebraska District Court Judge Julie D. Smith of Tecumseh, Nebraska, was invited to sit with the Nebraska Supreme Court on January 6, 2022.

Smith heard arguments in the case of Nationwide Transportation, Inc. v. Navistar, Inc. (S-20-0579). The case is a contract dispute involving the purchase of trucks where Navistar disputes the judgment entered in favor of Nationwide and Jasper on their claims of fraudulent concealment and breach of warranty, while Nationwide and Jasper dispute the damages awarded for not conforming to the jury’s verdict.

She sat in place of Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman who was recused from the case. 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.