(A) Only authorized Nebraska trial courts may livestream court proceedings.
§ 6-2102.Authority.
Article 21: Interim Rules on Livestreaming Proceedings in Nebraska Trial Courts · Last amended July 1, 2020 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentence§ 6-2102 limits livestreaming authority to courts the Nebraska Supreme Court has approved, denies members of the public any right to livestream a proceeding on their own, and routes news media coverage back to the separate Article 20 rules.
Full Text of § 6-2102
(B) No member of the public has the right to livestream any court proceeding without express permission of the judge presiding over the court proceeding.
Amendment History
§ 6-2101 adopted July 1, 2020.
Plain-English Summary
§ 6-2102 answers a basic question about the livestreaming pilot: who is allowed to turn it on? Only Nebraska trial courts the Supreme Court has authorized may livestream a proceeding — it is not something any courtroom can decide to offer on its own.
The rule is just as direct about who cannot livestream. No member of the public has any right to livestream a court proceeding unless the presiding judge expressly permits it. A phone held up in the gallery does not carry any built-in authority under this rule.
News media get a separate lane entirely. Rather than folding reporters into the livestreaming pilot, § 6-2102 sends them back to the expanded-news-media-coverage rules in Neb. Ct. R. § 6-2001 et seq., so a journalist seeking to broadcast, record, or photograph a proceeding still has to go through the Article 20 credentialing and request process, not this rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any Nebraska court decide on its own to livestream a proceeding?
No. Only authorized Nebraska trial courts may livestream court proceedings.
Can a member of the public livestream a hearing from their phone?
No, not without express permission of the judge presiding over the proceeding; no member of the public has a right to livestream on their own.
Do journalists use these livestreaming rules to cover a trial?
No. Members of the news media are governed by the separate expanded news media coverage rules, Neb. Ct. R. § 6-2001 et seq.
Who authorizes a trial court to offer livestreaming?
Only Nebraska trial courts the Supreme Court has authorized may use livestreaming technology under this rule.
What happens if someone livestreams a proceeding without permission?
The rule states that no member of the public has the right to do so without the presiding judge’s express permission, leaving enforcement to the judge handling the proceeding.
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
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