You can look up court cases in Nebraska online through two main systems: the JUSTICE Court Case Search System for state cases in all 93 county and district courts, and PACER for cases heard in federal court. A one-time search on JUSTICE costs $17 as of January 1, 2026. PACER charges by the page but waives fees for most casual users. Published appellate opinions are free to read through the Nebraska Judicial Branch’s online library.
How the JUSTICE Court Case Search System Works
JUSTICE is the Nebraska Judicial Branch’s statewide online portal. It covers criminal, civil, traffic, juvenile, and probate cases filed in all 93 county and district courts.1Nebraska Judicial Branch. JUSTICE Search – One-Time Case Search You can search by party name, case number, or attorney name. Results typically include a case summary, party information, financial details, and a register of actions listing filed documents and court events.
There are two ways in, and the pricing changed on January 1, 2026. A one-time search by party name costs $17 and returns public information on up to 30 matching cases. You pay even when the search returns nothing. If you expect to look up cases often, you can set up a subscriber account through Nebraska.gov and pay $2 per record accessed instead of a flat fee per search.2Nebraska Judicial Branch. Nebraska Supreme Court Introduces New Fee Structure to Improve Online Services For a single lookup, the one-time search is simpler. For regular use, a subscriber account pays for itself quickly.
What You Can See by Case Type
Information generally available to the public includes case numbers, party names, judges and attorneys involved, charges, pleas, motions, case status, and scheduled hearing dates. Personal financial data is excluded from public filings in both county and district court civil and criminal cases under the Supreme Court’s protected-information rules.3Nebraska Judicial Branch. Neb. Ct. R. 2-210 – Protected Information, Redacted Documents, and Documents Filed Under Seal
What JUSTICE Won’t Give You
The online portal provides view-only access to docket information and case summaries. It generally does not include images of the actual filed documents for one-time searches. If you need the underlying pleadings, orders, or exhibits, you’ll likely have to visit the courthouse or request copies from the clerk.
Reading Appellate Opinions for Free
If what you want is a published opinion from the Nebraska Supreme Court or the Nebraska Court of Appeals, you don’t need JUSTICE at all. The Nebraska Appellate Courts Online Library posts opinions for free. Advance opinions stay on the Judicial Branch website for 90 days, and once certified they join the permanent online library.4Nebraska Judicial Branch. Reporter of Decisions Office It’s a free option many people overlook when they’re really after the court’s reasoning in a decided appeal rather than the procedural history of a trial-level case.
Looking Up Federal Cases in Nebraska
Cases heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska aren’t in JUSTICE. Federal court records go through PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records service, which covers all federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts nationwide and contains over a billion filed documents.5Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Public Access to Court Electronic Records
PACER charges $0.10 per page, with a $3 cap per document. Here’s the part most people miss: if your total charges stay at $30 or less in a quarterly billing cycle, the fees are waived entirely. In fiscal year 2024, roughly 84% of active PACER users accessed records for free under this waiver.6United States Courts. Appendix 2 – Electronic Public Access Program FY 2026 For most people doing casual research, PACER is effectively free.
When Online Isn’t Enough
For records that aren’t available online, or when you need to see the actual filed documents rather than just docket entries, go to the clerk of the court’s office at the relevant county or district courthouse. Bring as much identifying information as you have: the case name, case number, or at least an approximate date range. Specificity speeds the search.
Many courthouses have public access terminals where you can search JUSTICE without paying the online one-time search fee. These terminals let you browse dockets, case reports, and other documents. Viewing on the terminals is typically free, though you’ll pay for any printed copies. Older records, particularly anything filed before digital systems were widely adopted, may only exist in paper form at the courthouse.
Records You Won’t Find Online
Not everything in Nebraska’s court files is open to the public. The biggest restriction is on juvenile cases. Pleadings, orders, decrees, and judgments from juvenile court proceedings are generally accessible, but medical, psychological, psychiatric, and social welfare reports, along with juvenile probation officer records, are closed and require a court order to inspect.7Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 43-2108
Other restricted categories include mental health commitment proceedings and any case a judge has ordered sealed. Even within otherwise public cases, specific documents containing protected personal information may be redacted or filed under seal. Nebraska’s broader public records law covers government records generally and sets the baseline right of access,8Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statutes 84-712.01 while the Supreme Court’s rules govern what the public can see in electronic court systems specifically.9Nebraska Judicial Branch. Article 8: Public Access to Electronic Court Records and Information If a search comes up empty on something you expected to find, a restriction may be the reason.
A Word on Third-Party Lookup Sites
Plenty of commercial websites promise instant access to Nebraska court records. They aggregate data from public court systems, but the information is often incomplete, outdated, or pulled from a limited set of courts. For casual curiosity they may be enough. For anything that matters, go directly to JUSTICE, PACER, or the courthouse.