Supervision/Supervised Release Records.
(a) Confidentiality.
Information contained in pretrial services, presentence, and probation post-
conviction supervision/supervised release records is confidential and may
not be disclosed except as authorized by statute, regulation, or court order.
(b) Filing Under Seal.
(1) Records Sealed.
Except as stated in Nebraska Criminal Rule 32.1.1, and unless a
judge orders otherwise in a specific case, the clerk files under seal
all pretrial services, presentence, and probation post-conviction
supervision/supervised release records that the clerk receives from
the probation and pretrial services office.
(2) Unsealed for Appeal Purposes.
The clerk unseals presentence reports to copy and send them to the
Office of the Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit.
(c) Agency Access.
(1) Agency Use.
Effective December 1, 2025 Nebraska Criminal Rules
Although the information in pretrial services, presentence, and
probation post-conviction supervision/supervised records remains
confidential, those records may be accessed by the United States
Sentencing Commission, the United States Parole Commission, the
United States Attorney, the Bureau of Prisons, the defendant, and
the defense attorney unless:
(A) a statute, regulation, or court order prohibits disclosure;
(B) a party or the probation and pretrial services officer has an
order from the assigned district or magistrate judge prohibiting
disclosure; or
(C) the assigned district or magistrate judge bars disclosure.
A judge may bar or refuse to bar disclosure for any reason, and the
judge may make this decision without notice or a hearing.
(2) Obligations of Agency Recipients.
When information in pretrial services, presentence, and probation
post-conviction supervision/supervised release records is disclosed
under Nebraska Criminal Rule 32.2(c)(1), the recipient of the
disclosure must keep the information confidential and use the
information only for administering justice. Any writing containing the
information must be returned at the court's request.
(3) Return of Copy Given to a Party.
All copies of the presentence report given to a pro se defendant must
be returned to the United States Probation and Pretrial Services
Office after sentencing. No copies or any dissemination of the
presentence report or information in the report may be made.
Unauthorized copying or disclosure is an act in contempt of court and
is punished accordingly.
(d) Requests for Disclosure.
Each judge may authorize the disclosure of pretrial services, presentence,
and probation post-conviction supervision/supervised release records. Oral
or written requests for an order authorizing disclosure should be made to
the district or magistrate judge assigned to the case for which disclosure is
sought. The judge may make or refuse to make a disclosure for any reason
and without notice or a hearing. However, in deciding, the judge should
Effective December 1, 2025 Nebraska Criminal Rules
consider:
(1) any promise of confidentiality made to the source of information;
(2) the privacy interests of those who provided the information;
(3) the need to maintain the court's access to the information by
providing confidentiality to sources of information;
(4) the purpose for which the information is requested and the materiality
of the information for that purpose;
(5) the availability of the information from other sources;
(6) whether the potential harm from the disclosure outweighs the
potential benefits of the disclosure; and
(7) whether the disclosure is consistent with the purposes of the Bail
Reform Act of 1984 or the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.
(e) Subpoenas for Disclosure.
If disclosure of probation and pretrial services records or a request for the
testimony of a probation and pretrial services officer is sought by subpoena
or other judicial process, the probation and pretrial services officer must
request the court orally or in writing for authority and instructions before
responding to the subpoena or other judicial process.
(1) Authorized Disclosure.
If the court rules that a probation and pretrial services officer is
authorized to testify or to produce records, the authorization is limited
to only those matters directly relevant to the demonstrated need. The
court's order must identify the records to be produced and the
authorized subject matter of the testimony.
(2) Unauthorized Disclosure.
If the court rules that a probation and pretrial services officer is not
authorized to testify or to produce records, then the court must issue
an order quashing the subpoena or other judicial process under the
authority of the Supremacy Clause, Article VI of the Constitution of
the United States.
Effective December 1, 2025 Nebraska Criminal Rules
