§ 6-2002.Definitions.

§ 6-2002 is the glossary for Nebraska’s expanded-media-coverage rules, and it is worth reading before any of the other Article 20 rules because so much turns on these exact terms. A “conference” covers any private exchange between attorneys and clients, co-counsel, or attorneys and the judge — at the bench, in chambers, or in judicial staff offices — plus anything meant to stay confidential, like notes on an attorney’s pad or laptop screen.

“Expanded news media coverage” means broadcasting, recording, photographing, or live electronic reporting of a proceeding for gathering and disseminating news; ordinary electronic notetaking does not count. “Credentials” and “News Media” work together — only a journalist who applies to and is approved by the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Public Information Office counts as credentialed news media able to seek coverage. A “News Media Coordinator” is a court-designated liaison who handles the logistics of that coverage, and the “Judicial Officer” is whichever presiding judge, judge, or clerk magistrate is handling the case where coverage is requested.

The rule also defines “Good Cause” as a substantial, justifiable reason left to the judicial officer’s sole discretion, and it draws a careful distinction: a judge finding good cause to exclude, suspend, or end media coverage is not the same thing as closing the proceeding itself under the separate courtroom-closure rules in §§ 6-201 through 6-205. Finally, “Judicial Proceedings” means public trials, hearings, and other proceedings where expanded coverage has been requested, except where these rules specifically exclude them.