It was standing room only last Friday at the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center as longtime prosecutor Jeffrey J. Lux took his oath of office and became the 17th judge for the Douglas County District Court.

Since 2007, Lux – who graduated from Creighton University in 1994 and received his Juris Doctor in 2000 from the Creighton University School of Law – has served as deputy county attorney in the criminal division of the Douglas County Attorney’s Office.

From 2003 to 2006, he was an assistant attorney general in the criminal bureau of the Nebraska Department of Justice, and from 2001 to 2003 he worked in the civil division of the county attorney’s office.

With close to 20 years working in the county attorney’s office, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine knows Lux pretty well.

“Jeff and I have worked together since 1998 in some capacity or another,” Kleine said in remarks. “I’ve been his supervisor and I brought him to the AG’s office and brought him back to the county attorney’s office. We’ve had a great working relationship that he’s been a stalwart with the work that he’s done in the AG’s office and the county attorney’s office. And I look forward to seeing the work he’s going to do as a judge.”

Lux is also a military veteran, having served as a captain in the Army Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps from 2003 to 2012.

“I’d like to thank all those I served in the military with,” Lux said. “I learned so much in the military about leadership, about teamwork – a lot about teamwork.”

While a member of the county attorney’s office, Lux helped launch Nebraska’s first veterans treatment court, a problem-solving court for military veterans who have been charged with felony offenses. The problem solving court provides veterans an opportunity to have the charges dismissed if they complete the 18 to 24 month program, which includes drug and alcohol counseling, mental health treatment, education and employment.

“To work with those veterans really reminds me of being a JAG again,” Lux said. “It’s very rewarding. You get to work with these folks that served our country, you get to think about a case in a different way and a less adversarial setting, on a team trying to get this person back into society.”

Lux spent much of his remarks thanking people who helped him reach this point, many of whom were in attendance.

“It’s been humbling because of the support that I had from pretty much everybody in this room, helping me, giving me encouragement and telling me, ‘You go for it, do it,’ and just being so supportive,” Lux said.

Lux also thanked his wife Angel, and children Morgan and Jack, as well as his mother.

“None of this could have happened if it wasn’t for you,” Lux said.

Notable among those in attendance for Lux’s robing ceremony were the many judges from local and state courts, including the Nebraska Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, as well as judges from nearby Lancaster and Sarpy counties, in addition to his new district court colleagues.

Lux was appointed by Gov. Pete Ricketts in September to fill the vacancy created by the Nebraska Legislature to establish a 17th district court judgeship.