Trial Judge Associations Install New Presidents
New presidents of Nebraska’s three trial judges’ associations took office Oct. 10 during gatherings in conjunction with the Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Meeting in La Vista.
• Douglas County District Court Judge Thomas A. Otepka of Omaha became the new president of the Nebraska District Judges Association.
Otepka joined the Fourth Judicial District bench in 2003 and also has served as a judge on the Douglas County Adult Drug Court since 2009. Before being a judge, Otepka was in private practice from 1975 to 2003 and also worked two years as an assistant city prosecutor in Omaha after graduating from Creighton University School of Law in 1972.
• Tenth Judicial District County Court Judge Michael P. Burns of Hastings became the new president of the Nebraska County Judges Association.
Burns joined the 10th Judicial District bench in 2011, which serves Adams, Clay, Fillmore, Franklin, Harlan, Kearney, Nuckolls, Phelps and Webster counties.
Burns was the presiding judge in 2013, 2014 and 2017 and has been a senior judge since 2014. Prior to the bench, Burns worked at Sullivan, Shoemaker, Witt and Burns in Hastings from 1998 to 2011. Previously, Burns worked as Clay County public defender, at the Hastings firm Seiler, Parker and Moncrieft, as a deputy county attorney in Hall County in Grand Island and as a temporary special prosecutor in Seattle. Burns is a 1992 Creighton Law graduate.
• Lancaster County Juvenile Court Judge Reggie Ryder of Lincoln became the new president of the Nebraska Separate Juvenile Judges Association.
Ryder joined the Separate Juvenile Court of Lancaster County in 2007. Prior to that, Ryder was at the Public Defender’s Office in Lancaster County from 1998 to 2007. Ryder also practiced law privately for a year in Beatrice after graduating with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1997.
Each new president will serve a one-year term for their groups.
The three judges’ associations allow the courts to network, solve problems and share innovations across the state, according to a news release. Their goal is goal is to educate one another on national, state and local issues; and discuss ways to more efficiently function in the judicial branch.
The association presidents all work closely with the chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court and with the Office of the State Court Administrator. They can appoint specialized committees and also operate with their own elected executive committees.
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