Jason Bergevin
2025 - Present
2029
0
Jason Bergevin is a judge for District 5 of the Nebraska Supreme Court. He assumed office on February 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2029.
Governor Jim Pillen (R) appointed Jason Bergevin to the Nebraska Supreme Court on January 2, 2025. Bergevin took office on Februrary 14, 2025. To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Bergevin was appointed to the 5th District Court by Governor Pete Ricketts on May 12, 2022. He was preceded by Robert Steinke.
Appointments
2025
Governor Jim Pillen (R) appointed Jason Bergevin to the Nebraska Supreme Court on January 2, 2025. Bergevin replaced justice Jeffrey Funke, who ascended to the chief justice position on November 1, 2024. Bergevin was Governor Pillen's second appointment to the seven-member supreme court. Earlier in 2024, Pillen made his first appointment to the court when he chose Funke to ascend to the chief justiceship.[1]
In Nebraska, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
When a vacancy occurs on the Nebraska Supreme Court, a judicial nominating commission submits the names of at least two qualified nominees to the governor, who appoints one to fill the vacancy. If the governor does not appoint one of the nominees within 60 days, the chief justice of the supreme court is authorized to select a new judge.[2]
State supreme court judicial selection in Nebraska
- See also: Judicial selection in Nebraska
The seven justices on the Nebraska Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. The governor appoints each new justice from a list of at least two qualified nominees assembled by a judicial nominating commission.[3][4] There are separate judicial nominating commissions for each supreme court district, as well as the chief justiceship. Each commission is made up of nine members. Members of the Nebraska State Bar Association select four lawyers and the governor appoints four nonlawyers. The ninth member is a supreme court justice who serves as chairman but does not vote.[4][5]
Justices must run in a yes-no retention election during the first general election occurring after they have been on the court for three years. Subsequent terms last six years.[2]
Qualifications
To serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court, a person must:
- be at least 30 years old;
- be a U.S. citizen;
- have practiced law in Nebraska for at least five years;
- be a member of the state bar; and
- be a resident of the judicial district for which they are being appointed.[6]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected through the same assisted appointment method as other justices on the court and serves in that role for the duration of his or her time on the court.[7]
Vacancies
When a vacancy occurs on the Nebraska Supreme Court, a judicial nominating commission submits the names of at least two qualified nominees to the governor, who appoints one to fill the vacancy. If the governor does not appoint one of the nominees within 60 days, the chief justice of the supreme court is authorized to select a new judge.[2]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
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Officeholder Nebraska Supreme Court District 5 |
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Pillen Appoints Jason Bergevin as Associate Justice to the Nebraska Supreme Court," January 2, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 State of Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Branch Overview," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Selection in the States: Nebraska | Overview," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Selection in the States: Nebraska | Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Nebraska State Constitution Article V-21," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ Nebraska Legislature, "Nebraska Revised Statute 24-202," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Nebraska," accessed August 16, 2021
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nebraska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nebraska
State courts:
Nebraska Supreme Court • Nebraska Court of Appeals • Nebraska District Courts • Nebraska County Courts • Nebraska Separate Juvenile Courts • Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court • Nebraska Problem-Solving Courts
State resources:
Courts in Nebraska • Nebraska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nebraska
