(A) On or before January 1, 2022, the county court, district court, and separate juvenile court judges within each judicial district shall jointly adopt a local rule setting out the procedures governing emergency modified court operations in their judicial district.
§ 6-1474.Emergency Modified Court Operations.
Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended November 24, 2021 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule required every Nebraska judicial district to jointly adopt, by January 1, 2022, a local rule among its county, district, and juvenile court judges spelling out when and how the courts switch to emergency modified operations and back to normal.
Full Text of § 6-1474
(B) Such local rule shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Establishing criteria for how the judicial district will determine when emergency modified court operations should be implemented, and when normal court operations should resume;
(2) Listing the stakeholders within the judicial district to include in planning and implementing any emergency modified court operations.
(3) Identifying who within the judicial district will coordinate and facilitate communication with the group of justice stakeholders to plan and implement any emergency modified court operations plan;
(4) Listing all mission essential functions to be considered and addressed in any emergency modified court operations plan; and
(5) Identifying how court users and the public will be informed when emergency modified court operations are implemented and when they are discontinued.
Amendment History
§ 6-1474 adopted November 24, 2021.
Plain-English Summary
A courthouse can be disrupted by anything from a public health emergency to a natural disaster, and this rule makes sure each judicial district has a plan ready before that happens rather than improvising in the moment. By January 1, 2022, the county court, district court, and separate juvenile court judges within each district had to jointly adopt a local rule governing emergency modified court operations.
That local rule has to address, at minimum, the criteria for deciding when to switch into emergency operations and when to return to normal, the stakeholders the district will include in planning and carrying out an emergency plan, who will coordinate communication among those stakeholders, the mission-essential functions the plan needs to cover, and how the district will let court users and the public know when emergency operations start and end. Like the counsel-appointment local rule in § 6-1467, this local rule is governed by § 6-1448, the general framework for adopting local rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an emergency modified court operations plan?
It is a local rule each judicial district adopted, jointly among its county, district, and juvenile court judges, setting out criteria and procedures for shifting to modified operations during an emergency and returning to normal afterward.
Which courts had to jointly adopt this local rule?
The county court, district court, and separate juvenile court judges within each judicial district, acting together, by January 1, 2022.
What must an emergency modified court operations plan cover?
At minimum, the criteria for starting and ending emergency operations, the stakeholders involved in planning, who coordinates communication among them, the mission-essential functions to address, and how the public is informed.
How does the public find out when emergency court operations start or end?
The district’s local rule must identify how court users and the public will be informed when emergency modified operations are implemented and when they are discontinued.
Why does this rule require a plan to be adopted in advance rather than developed as needed?
Building the plan before an emergency occurs lets a district respond quickly and consistently, rather than working out coordination and communication for the first time in the middle of a disruption.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: emergency court operations plan nebraskacounty court continuity of operations rulemission essential functions court planlocal rule emergency operations judicial districtcourt plan for disruption nebraska