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Report To The Nebraska Supreme Court On Indigent Defense Systems And Fee Structures, Nebraska Minority Justice Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

On May 18, 2005 the Nebraska Supreme Court adopted the following resolution: “The Minority and Justice Implementation Committee shall study indigency attorney fee structures statewide and report and make recommendations, if any, to the Supreme Court regarding indigency fees throughout the State of Nebraska.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court’s resolution was influenced by a certain county’s attempt to establish a flat fee for court appointed attorneys. The legal profession’s concern with this policy is that such a drastic rate reduction would likely encourage attorneys to spend less time on court appointed cases, and discourage more experienced attorneys from accepting court appointments …

Progress Report 2005, Nebraska Minority And Justice Implementation Committee

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The Nebraska Minority and Justice Implementation Committee is a unique statewide collaboration that works to develop and implement just and sustainable policy reforms that will not only improve the system of justice but will also strengthen public trust and confidence in our laws and court system. The Committee is a joint effort of the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed by the Supreme Court in May of 2003 in response to a Task Force’s two-year investigation of racial and ethnic bias and discrimination in Nebraska’s justice system. The mission of the Committee is to achieve four …

Recent Efforts To Make Nebraska Juries More Representative Of Their Communities, Carly Duvall, Elizabeth Neeley

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

According to the Minority and Justice Task Force Report (2003), “the majority of Nebraskans believe that it is important that juries reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the community.” Preliminary data obtained as part of the Task Force’s inquiry into representation of minorities on petit juries call into question whether Nebraska juries are representative of their communities. This concern has prompted several statewide policy reforms that are designed to increase representation of minorities on juries regardless of whether there has been a problem in the State. The first reform involved regular refreshing of jury pool lists (LB 19 and …