The jury for any case to be tried pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 25-412.03 shall be selected from the county in which the case was first filed. The jury shall be selected in the manner prescribed in the Jury Selection Act. The summons shall direct attendance before the court by which the case is to be tried and the return thereof shall be made to the same court.
§ 25-412.04.Criminal and civil trials; agreements for change of venue; jury; selection.
Article 4: Venue · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceSection 25-412.04 provides that when a case is tried under a county-board agreement made under section 25-412.03, the jury must be selected from the county where the case was first filed, under the Jury Selection Act, even though the trial itself happens in the agreeing county.
Full Text of § 25-412.04
Source
Laws 1975, LB 97, § 4; R.S.1943, (1985), § 24-904; Laws 2020, LB387, § 36.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-412.03 lets small counties send their contested cases to another county for trial under a standing interlocal agreement. Section 25-412.04 answers a question that arrangement raises immediately: whose jury pool hears the case?
The answer keeps the jury tied to the case’s home county. For any case tried under a section 25-412.03 agreement, the jury must be selected from the county in which the case was first filed, not from the county where the trial physically takes place. Jury selection itself follows the procedures of the Jury Selection Act, the same statute that governs jury selection generally in Nebraska.
The section also addresses the summons used to call jurors. It must direct the jurors to attend before the court that will try the case, and the return of that summons — the officer’s report on how it was served — goes back to that same trial court, keeping the administrative paperwork aligned with where the trial is happening even while the jurors themselves come from elsewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
If my small county sends its cases to a neighboring county for trial, whose jury decides the case?
The jury is selected from the county where the case was first filed, not from the county where the trial is held, under section 25-412.04.
What law governs how the jury is chosen?
The Jury Selection Act governs the selection process, applied to jurors drawn from the county where the case was first filed.
Where does the jury summons direct jurors to appear?
Before the court that will try the case, even though the jurors are selected from the county where the case was originally filed.
Where does the summons get returned after service?
To the same court that will try the case.
Does this section apply to every case tried in an adjoining county under sections 25-412.01 or 25-412.02?
No. It applies specifically to cases tried pursuant to an agreement entered under section 25-412.03, the interlocal agreement mechanism for handling all contested cases from a small county.
Why keep the jury tied to the filing county instead of using jurors from the trial county?
Keeping the jury pool tied to the county where the case originated preserves that county’s connection to the case even though practical facility limits move the trial itself elsewhere.
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: jury selection interlocal agreement nebraskawhich county jury pool trialjury summons trial court venuejury selection act nebraska venuesmall county jury trial rulessection 25-412.04 explained