At first glance, Matt Kuhse wasn't sure what to make of Michael W. Jensen. In 2006, Don Kleine was elected as Douglas County attorney, moving from the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, and Jensen was one of the people from that office joining him in Omaha. 

Kuhse, who served as a deputy attorney for the county from 2001-16 before moving full-time to the City of Omaha, was assigned to a team with Jensen after Kleine assumed the county attorney's role in 2007. 

Jensen was sworn into office as a Fourth District Court judge, serving Douglas County, during a June 12 investiture service at the City/County Building. Kuhse introduced Judge Jensen during the event. 

Appointed to the District Court in April by Gov. Jim Pillen, Jensen was one of four finalists, pared down from seven applicants. He fills a vacancy created after Pillen appointed Judge Derek R. Vaughn to the Nebraska Supreme Court. 

Jensen, who served in the state attorney general's office at the time of his appointment, worked at the Douglas County Attorney's Office for 15 years. 

Kuhse mixed humor with his storytelling of his professional relationship and later, friendship, with Jensen. 

New to handling felony cases, team members tricked Jensen into contacting a judge, with whom it was considered difficult to work, Kuhse said. 

"Sure enough, Mike bought into it," he said. "I understand (Jensen wrote) some sort of manifesto about how things are supposed to be run in this courtroom." 

After reading Jensen's manifesto, Kuhse said he thought it was ironic because they were things Jensen did, which he now expects others to avoid doing in a courtroom. 

"I was glad to see, Mike, that you didn't put in there the expectation that lawyers show up prepared to handle their cases, because that would really, really be ironic if you said something like that," Kuhse said, with a dry wit. "I did see things in there, 'Be prepared to do this, be prepared to do that.' That was not Mike's style at all." 

Jensen isn't a fan of beverages on courtroom tables, Kuhse said. 

"I was going to bring a can of soda and open it up right in front of him, and see if it triggered him, while chewing gum at the same time, because I understand that that's a big thing he doesn't like either," he said. 

The beverage situation arose during a trial, when Kuhse and Jensen were co-counsels. 

"So I've got a thermos because I'm sick, I need hot beverages," Kuhse said. "And he says that (beverages as a sign of weakness) to me, and I turn around, I'm like, 'Are you for real right now?' 

"It's a sign of weakness." 

"I don't care that it's a sign of weakness. I'm dying here, man. Like, I'll go downstairs, and you can do the damn trial all by yourself, if you want." 

As the trial concluded, Jensen delivered his summation to the jury.

"One thing I remember from my medicated haze was during closing arguments, he gets up and gives this analogy about raking leaves, and that the leaves might have been the evidence, or maybe the rake was the...I don't really know," Kuhse said. "And he sat down next to me, and he goes, 'How do you think that went?' Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what he just said. I said, 'I hope we win, but I don't understand your analogy.'" 

As the defense team is presented its closing remarks, Jensen explained the analogy to Kuhse. 

"I'm like, 'Well, here's the problem, Mike: If you're having to explain it to me, I don't think these 12 people are going to get it,'" Kuhse said. "So if you want to win a trial in Mike Jensen's courtroom, come up with some sort of analogy about lawn care, farming, camping, I don't know what, and you'll probably do really well." 

Joking aside, Jensen worked diligently to earn the judgeship, Kuhse said. 

"He has an infectious personality, where you just can't help but like him," Kuhse said. 

"And I think that explains Mike in a nutshell. Judges are people, they're not robots. They're not these special divine beings with special powers. They're a person, and they make decisions to the best they can, sometimes wrong, most times right." 

Appreciative of the opportunity and challenges that lay ahead, Jensen thanked his relatives for their lifelong support. 

"They provided me a loving, energetic, quick-witted, yet patient household that provided me with so many opportunities and adventures," Jensen said. 

"They provided encouragement when needed, and often knew just the right things to say or do to provide responsible discouragement." 

Jensen said the actions and decisions people make eventually influence their future. 

"There are many points in my life, and all our lives, for that matter, in which we encounter certain circumstances or people that change the direction of our lives," he said. "Certainly, I could talk about the major ones, right? Getting married to my wife, the birth of my children, the death of loved ones, farming in Northwest Iowa, the long trials, including a seven-week one with (Public Defender) Tom Riley and Judge (Horacio) Wheelock back here. 

"But some things in your life are so minuscule that they go unnoticed, until a passage of time in which allows you the perspective to realize that those little moments changed your life forever. How and why I stand before you here today is a collection of all the people in those little moments that I encountered in my life that led me to be here today."

Rather than pursue a career in agronomy, working for the United States Golf Association, Jensen opted for law school. 

While attending Creighton University School of Law, Jensen landed an internship at the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, where he was assigned to the criminal bureau, working with Kleine. 

"He was a wonderful teacher and was instrumental in piquing my interest in being a prosecutor," Jensen said. 

All of his previous decisions and influences led him on a journey to become a judge, Jensen said.

"There are so many people who are here that made all the difference in the world," Jensen said.

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.