(a) Authority.
Effective December 1, 2025 Nebraska Criminal Rules
A full-time magistrate judge is responsible for all pretrial matters in
misdemeanor cases. When the misdemeanor charge is for a petty offense,
or when the misdemeanor charge is not for a petty offense and the
defendant has consented orally or in writing to proceed with trial, judgment,
and sentencing before a magistrate judge rather than a district judge, a full-
time magistrate judge is authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3401 to:
(1) try persons accused of, and sentence persons convicted of,
misdemeanors committed within this district;
(2) direct the probation and pretrial services office to conduct a
presentence investigation in any misdemeanor;
(3) conduct a jury trial in any misdemeanor case where the defendant
so requests and is entitled to a jury trial under the Constitution and
laws of the United States;
(4) conduct any necessary hearings relating to petitions to revoke
probation and supervised release and enter final orders when a
magistrate judge imposed probation or supervised release after
conviction of a misdemeanor; and
(5) with the defendant's consent, hear and determine cases brought
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in which the magistrate judge entered
judgment in the underlying misdemeanor criminal prosecution.
(b) Part-Time Magistrate Judge.
Designation of part-time magistrate judges to conduct duties under 18
U.S.C. § 3401 is made by specific order as required.
(c) Exception.
This rule does not preclude a district judge from (1) reserving any
proceeding for conduct by a district rather than a magistrate judge or (2)
modifying the method of assigning matters to a magistrate judge as
required.
