Scotts Bluff County - Clerk of District Court

The office of Clerk of the District Court is an elected position. Duties include filing of new cases and receiving, filing and maintaining all subsequent pleadings in District Court matters. Filing includes scanning, microfilming, indexing and placing paper documents in the court files. All pleadings are entered electronically into the State Court Administrators statewide computer system known as JUSTICE. Many of the pleadings demand action by the Clerk. Actions may include issuing a summons or subpoena, preparing warrants for the judge's signature, entering information for money judgments into JUSTICE, receipting and disbursing funds for fees and collections on judgments, investing funds when so directed by the court. Currently there are about 65,000 court files housed in the office and storage areas. Cases filed fall into two categories, civil and criminal. Civil matters include domestic issues such as dissolutions, child support, paternity, custody; protection orders, both harassment and domestic; litigation for negligence, property disputes, contract disputes, F.E.L.A. cases (i.e. railroad cases), name change, foreclosures; appeals from County Court and Small Claims Court; transcribed judgments from other courts. Criminal matters include felony cases, misdeamors reduced from felonies; appeals from County Court; search warrants.

District Court is also responsible for pleadings in cases filed to go before the Mental Health Board.

The Clerk of the District Court also serves as Jury Commissioner in Scotts Bluff County. A list of eligible citizens is obtained from drivers' license and voter registration records. From that list panels of potential jurors are summoned for each of the four court terms held each year. Separate groups are summoned for District Court and for County Court. It is the Jury Commissioner's responsibility to see that the potential jurors are present for court dates as scheduled by the judges and to do the actual drawing of names in the courtroom before each trial. Once the jurors are selected and sworn in, the Bailiff is responsible for their welfare and adherence to rules during the trial.

The Clerk of the District Court is a passport application agent for the U. S. Department of State. The agent executes the paperwork and must be personally assured that the citizenship and identity of the applicant are valid.

On April 13, 2022, the Nebraska Supreme Court adopted rule amendments to Neb. Ct. R. § 6-601 et seq. and Appendix 1 which allow self represented
litigants to fax filings.
The fax cover sheet is available on the master forms list:

Fax Filling For Self-Represented Litigants

Please note, the 12th Judicial District consists of the following counties: Banner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan & Sioux counties

District Court Filing Fees Effective 7/1/2023

Court filing fee information - https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov

  • Criminal - $87.00
  • Criminal appeal from County Court - $71.00
  • Civil Case - $87.00
  • Civil appeal from County Court & Administrative Agencies - $87.00
  • Dissolution of Marriage - $162.00
  • Domestic Relations (Paternity, Child Support, Visitation) - $52.00
  • Domestic Relations Modification - $65.00
  • Transcript of Judgment - $70.00
  • Miscellaneous (Execution, Restitution, Garnishment, Attachment ) - $5.00
  • Protection Orders - NO FEE
  • Unemployment Compensation Appeals - NO FEE
  • Appeal to Court of Appeals or Supreme Court - Cost Bond - $75.00

    • The docket fee for cases appealed to the Court of Appeals/Supreme Court will increase to $129.00, with the appeal bond $204.00.

Jury Service Information

308 633-1835 - Jury schedule updates are available 24 hours a day by calling. The message will be updated promptly any time a change is made in the trial schedule. However, jurors should always call after 5:00 p.m. the evening before they are scheduled to appear.

Contact Information

Location

Court House - 2nd Level
1725 10th Street
Gering, NE 69341

Mailing Address

Clerk of the District Court
P. O. Box 47
Gering, NE 69341

Office Hours

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Open through the lunch hour
Closed Weekends and Holidays

Contact

308 436-6641 - Main
308 436-6759 - Fax

Darla Simpson - Clerk of District Court
dsimpson

Child Support

1-877-631-9973 - Payment information is available by calling. Follow the prompts and have the case number available.

Child Support, Spousal Support, in cases with minor children, and Medical Support are to be paid to the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center, P.O. Box 82600, Lincoln, NE 68501-2600 as per the COURT ORDER. The Clerk of the District Court does not condone use of the "Payee Affidavit for Non-Monetary Receipt" as a routine monthly practice. Use should be limited to an occasional out-of-the ordinary circumstance.

Payee Affidavit for Non-Monetary Receipt Form

Immigration and Naturalization

1-800-375-5283 - Information is available by calling.

Nebraska Supreme Court

Passports

Passports applications are accepted in the Office of Clerk of the District Court. Appointments are not required but a phone call is suggested over the lunch hour.

Applicants will need:

  • DS-11 application form (available in the office or on the U S Department of State website) - www.travel.state.gov
  • Certified state issued birth certificate (or naturalization papers)
  • One passport photo (photography services not available in the office)
  • Drivers license or picture id.
  • Payment may be made by personal check or money order. Separate payments are needed for the passport fee and for the execution fee. Credit cards are not accepted.

Birth records by state are available at - www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm

Current information on processing time, fees, travel advisories and status of a pending application is available on - www.travel.state.gov

Passport renewals in many instances can be done by the applicant using form DS-82 available on - www.travel.state.gov

Additional Links

Updated: 2016.10.18 - 8:00 MDT