What Is a Douglas County Court Docket
A court docket is the running list of events in a case. It tells the reader when a case was filed, when motions were entered, when hearings are scheduled, what orders the judge has signed, and what the final disposition is. In Nebraska's case management system the docket is called the Register of Actions. A Douglas County court docket includes filings from the parties, notices from the court, hearings set by the judge, and final judgments. It is a summary list, not the full document file. A reader who wants the underlying pleadings, exhibits, or transcripts has to use JUSTICE document images or visit the clerk's office.
Each Douglas County trial court keeps its own docket. The Clerk of the District Court keeps the District Court docket for felonies, divorces, and larger civil files. The County Court clerk keeps dockets for misdemeanor, traffic, probate, and small claims work. The Separate Juvenile Court clerk keeps a docket for juvenile delinquency, status, and abuse and neglect cases. All three feed into the statewide JUSTICE case search.
How to Find Douglas County Dockets Online
The free option is the Nebraska Multi-Court Case Calendar. It searches scheduled hearings by date or last name across Nebraska county courts and the few district courts that opt in. The calendar's own disclaimer says accuracy is not guaranteed and that no result does not necessarily mean a person has no court date. The page also lists the district courts that are not included; Douglas District Court is on that list for non-juvenile cases.
- Open the Nebraska Multi-Court Case Calendar.
- Pick County Court or District Court as the court type.
- Select Douglas from the dropdown; for District Court the option may read "Douglas (juvenile only)."
- Choose Search By Date or Search By Last Name. Date searches are current and future only; last name needs at least two characters.
- Run the search and review the listed hearings, dates, times, and locations.
- For a full register of actions or document images, use the paid JUSTICE one-time case search instead.
The calendar's official assistance contact is the County Court Specialists at (888) 342-6395. For Douglas District Court hearing dates that the calendar will not show, call the Clerk of the District Court at 402-444-7018 or contact counsel.
Sample Douglas County Docket Entry
Each line on a docket records one event in the case. In a Douglas County District Court criminal docket, a typical line shows the entry date, the event type (motion, hearing, plea, order), the party who filed, and a link to the document image if one was uploaded. The Register of Actions on JUSTICE is the formal version of the docket and includes the same field set.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Entry Date | When the event was entered by the clerk |
| Event Type | Filing, hearing setting, order, judgment, continuance |
| Party Filing | Plaintiff, defendant, State, petitioner, court, or clerk |
| Document Description | Title of the pleading or order |
| Document Image | Link to the public image if filed after April 16, 2008 |
| Hearing Date and Time | For events that set a courtroom appearance |
| Judge | Assigned or hearing judge |
Courts That Publish Douglas County Dockets
Three Douglas County trial courts feed dockets into the statewide system, but the level of public docket detail differs. The County Court calendar shows hearing dates on the Nebraska Multi-Court Calendar for free. The Separate Juvenile Court calendar is also available through the same calendar for juvenile-only items. The Douglas District Court is excluded from the calendar at this time except for juvenile dockets, so users typically reach the District Court docket through JUSTICE or by calling the clerk.
- Douglas County Court - Criminal/Traffic, Civil/Small Claims, and Probate divisions; calendar available.
- Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court - juvenile calendar available through the statewide tool.
- Douglas District Court - calendar excluded except for juvenile; use JUSTICE or the Clerk of the District Court for hearing dates.
- Nebraska Court of Appeals and Supreme Court - appellate dockets sit on the Nebraska Judicial Branch site, not the trial calendar.
Docket vs. Full Case Record
The docket and the full case record are not the same thing. The docket is a short list of events. The full case record is the complete file the clerk maintains: pleadings, exhibits, transcripts, judge's orders, and signed judgments. A reader who wants to understand a Douglas County case usually starts with the docket to learn what happened and then orders the underlying pleading or order from the clerk.
| Docket | Full Case Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | List of entries | Full documents and exhibits |
| Access | Free calendar; paid JUSTICE for register of actions | JUSTICE images after April 2008; clerk visit for older or paper-only files |
| Use | Track hearings, filings, and case status | Read motions, orders, judgments; evidence review |
| Limits | Calendar excludes Douglas District Court except juvenile | Sealed, juvenile, and adoption files are restricted |
Note: The calendar's warning says no result does not mean there is no court date; confirm with the clerk before assuming a case has no hearing set.
How to Read a Douglas County Docket
Most docket terms come from a small vocabulary that repeats across cases. A few useful ones for Douglas County readers:
- Complaint
- The starting document for a civil or criminal case.
- Information
- A formal charging document filed by a prosecutor in a felony case.
- Arraignment
- The first criminal hearing where charges are read and a plea is entered.
- Bound over
- County Court order sending a felony case to District Court after a preliminary hearing.
- Continuance
- A reset of the hearing date.
- Disposition
- The final outcome of a charge or case.
- Register of Actions
- The chronological event log inside JUSTICE.
Disposition codes can look cryptic. Words like "guilty plea entered," "case dismissed," "decree entered," or "judgment satisfied" line up with the legal terms above. A docket showing a balance is not the same thing as a private debt; under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2281, payments may be applied to restitution before fines or costs.
What If a Douglas County Docket Has No Hearing Date
The Nebraska Multi-Court Case Calendar warns that timely entry is not guaranteed. A missing hearing date can mean the entry has not yet been posted, the case is in Douglas District Court (which is excluded from the calendar except juvenile), the date is in the past, or the docket entry uses a last name that does not match the search. The safest steps are to check JUSTICE for the full register of actions, call the clerk for the right court, or speak with counsel. Skipping a hearing because the online calendar showed nothing is risky; the court may still issue a bench warrant for failure to appear.
For traffic and citation dates, the Nebraska Judicial Branch traffic page walks through what to do when a citation has been issued and how warrants work after a missed date. The traffic court records page covers the Douglas County process for those cases.
In-Person Docket Help in Douglas County
The Clerk of the District Court office at 1701 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68183, can confirm District Court docket details by phone at 402-444-7018. The Douglas County Court clerk can be reached at 402-444-5387, the Probate Division at 402-444-7152, and the Civil and Small Claims Division at 402-444-5424. The Separate Juvenile Court clerk's office at 1717 Harney Street, Room 4-195, can be reached at 402-444-7337. Court hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Douglas County Judges Behind the Docket
The judge listed on a docket entry decides what happens in court that day. The Nebraska Judicial Branch lists 18 Douglas District Court judges, including Hon. Ryan M. Lindberg, Hon. Tressa M. Alioth, Hon. Peter C. Bataillon, Hon. Katie L. Benson, Hon. Timothy P. Burns, Hon. Michael W. Jensen, Hon. J Russell Derr, Hon. Duane C. Dougherty, Hon. Todd O. Engleman, Hon. Molly B. Keane, Hon. Jeffrey J. Lux, Hon. James M. Masteller, Hon. Kimberly Miller Pankonin, Hon. Marlon A. Polk, Hon. Richard P. McGowan, Hon. LeAnne M. Srb, Hon. Shelly R. Stratman, and Hon. Horacio J. Wheelock. Douglas County Court has 12 judges, including Hon. John E. Huber, Hon. Grant A. Forsberg, Hon. Stephanie R. Hansen, Hon. Thomas K. Harmon, Hon. Marcena M. Hendrix, Hon. Marcela A. Keim, Hon. Sheryl L. Lohaus, Hon. Tamara T. Mosby, Hon. Philip K. Kleine, Hon. Craig Q. McDermott, Hon. Stephanie S. Shearer, and Hon. Beau G. Finley.
Judges rotate across divisions. A docket may show the same judge presiding in criminal, traffic, and small claims hearings within the same week. When the JUSTICE register lists a judge name that has changed mid-case, the new judge has taken over for hearings going forward; the prior judge's signed orders still stand. The November 10, 2025 appointment of Judge Derek R. Vaughn to the Nebraska Supreme Court is one recent example of mid-case judge change in Douglas County.