§ 25-21,166.Certification to federal court; stay of proceedings.
Article 21: Special Proceedings and Actions · Last amended 1929 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires the district court of the county where the State Capitol is located to stay proceedings against the state officer once the enforcement suit under section 25-21,165 begins, and to certify to the proper federal district court that the state suit has been filed.
Full Text of § 25-21,166
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The district court of the county in Nebraska in which said State Capitol is located shall, when such suit is brought, grant a stay of proceedings to any state officer or officers under such statute or order, pending the determination of such suit by the courts of the State of Nebraska. The district court of the county in Nebraska in which its State Capitol is located shall upon the institution of said suit,
certify forthwith to the United States District Court, District of Nebraska, to its proper Division in which such action heretofore has been brought, the fact that such suit has been begun in the district court of the county in the state where the State Capitol is located.
Source
Laws 1929, c. 79, § 2, p. 269; C.S.1929, § 20-21,157; R.S.1943, § 25-21,166.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-21,166 completes the two-step mechanism section 25-21,165 sets up. Once a suit to enforce a state statute or administrative order is brought in the district court of the county where the State Capitol is located, that court must grant a stay of proceedings to the state officer or officers acting under the challenged statute or order, pending the determination of the suit by the courts of Nebraska. The stay protects the state officer from being forced to act, or from being penalized for not acting, while the Nebraska courts work through the merits of the enforcement suit.
The same district court also has a certification duty. Upon the institution of the state suit, it must certify forthwith to the United States District Court, District of Nebraska — specifically to the proper Division where the federal interlocutory-injunction suit is pending — the fact that the state enforcement suit has begun in the district court of the county where the State Capitol is located. That certification keeps the federal court informed that a parallel state proceeding is now underway.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to the state officer once the state enforcement suit is filed?
The district court of the county where the State Capitol is located must grant a stay of proceedings to the state officer or officers acting under the challenged statute or order, pending the determination of the suit by Nebraska courts.
How long does that stay of proceedings last?
Pending the determination of the suit by the courts of the State of Nebraska.
Does the federal court automatically learn that a state suit was filed?
Yes. The district court must certify forthwith to the United States District Court, District of Nebraska, in the proper Division, that the state suit has begun.
Why does the certification requirement matter?
It keeps the federal court, where the interlocutory-injunction suit against the state officer is pending, informed that a parallel enforcement suit is now underway in Nebraska’s own courts.
Which section sets up the suit that triggers this stay and certification?
Section 25-21,165, which authorizes a defendant or the Attorney General to bring the enforcement suit before the federal injunction hearing.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:stay of proceedings state officer nebraskacertification to federal district courtnebraska statute enforcement suit staystate capitol district court certifyparallel state federal proceeding stay