Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has five finalists to consider for an appointment to the Douglas County District Court.

The Judicial Nominating Commission for the District Court Judge in the Fourth Judicial District interviewed and selected the finalists from a pool of seven candidates.

The advanced nominees were Grant A. Forsberg, Jeffrey J. Lux, Korey T. Taylor, and Jeffrey P. Welch, all of Omaha, and Molly B. Keane of Elkhorn. Also seeking the appointment, but not advanced by the commission, Makayla S. Danner and Anthony W. Liakos of Omaha, according to a Nebraska Judicial Branch news release.

The spot on the bench was created by the Nebraska Legislature when lawmakers established a 17th district court judge based in Omaha effective July 1.

A vacancy is expected on the Douglas County District Court after the retirement of Judge Thomas A. Otepka effective Sept. 10.

Here is a closer look at the five finalists:

• Forsberg has been a Douglas County Court judge since being appointed in July 2019.

Forsberg was previously the founding partner at Forsberg Law PC LLO from 2010 to 2019 and the managing partner at Forsberg & Jolly Law from 2008 to 2010. Prior to that, Forsberg was an associate at Dwyer, Smith, Gardner, Lazer, Pohren, Rogers & Forrest (2003 to 2008). Prior to practicing law, Forsberg spent a decade as an analyst and manager for Union Pacific Railroad.

Forsberg is a 2002 graduate of the Creighton University School of Law.

• Keane has been a deputy Douglas County attorney since 2005, working on felony cases.

Keane has been the supervisor of the Child Victim and Sexual Assault Unit since 2012 and a team leader since 2018. Keane was previously an assistant district attorney in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts from 2001 to 2004.

Keane is a 2001 graduate of Boston College Law School.

• Lux has been deputy Douglas County attorney since 2007, working in the criminal division.

Lux was previously an assistant attorney general for the Nebraska Department of Justice from 2003 to 2006 and was in the Douglas County Attorney’s Office civil division from 2001 to 2003. Prior to that, Lux was a law clerk for Nebraska Supreme Court Justice Michael McCormack (2000 to 2001). From 2003 to 2012, Lux was an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps.

Lux is a 2000 graduate of Creighton Law and a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Army JAG School at the University of Virginia School of Law.

• Taylor has been assistant public defender for parental rights and felonies for Douglas County since 2015.

Taylor was previously an assistant public defender in the Office of the Public Defender of the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orlando, Florida from 2010 to 2015 and has been an independent real estate and legal consultant in Texas, Florida and New York since 2009. Prior to that, Taylor was a real estate associate for Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles in 2008.

Taylor is a 2008 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

• Welch has been a litigation partner attorney at Marks Clare & Richards since 2018.

Welch was previously a sole practitioner from 2013 to 2018 and the managing partner of Johnson & Welch from 2001 to 2012. Prior to that, Welch was a litigation attorney at Cullan & Cullan (1998 to 2000) and Welch Wulff & Childers (1996 to 1998), as well as a prosecutor for the Douglas County Attorney’s Office (1992 to 1996).

Welch is a 1993 graduate of Creighton Law.