Kenneth Stephan
From Ballotpedia
Kenneth Stephan
Prior offices
Nebraska Supreme Court District 1
Education
Kenneth Stephan was a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in March of 1997 by Governor Ben Nelson. He was last retained in 2012. Stephan retired from the bench on July 1, 2015.[1]
Education
Stephan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska in 1968 and his J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1972.[2]
Career
- 1997-2015: Justice, Nebraska Supreme Court
- 1973-1997: Attorney in private practice[2]
Elections
2012
Stephan was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 77.57 percent of the vote.[3][4]
- See also: Nebraska judicial elections, 2012
2012 judicial performance evaluation
Every two years, the Nebraska State Bar Association compiles responses from lawyers to evaluate judges in the state. Subjects are rated in seven categories, then a determination is made for whether the judge should be retained. The seven categories considered are: legal analysis; impartiality; attentiveness; opinions; judicial temperament and demeanor; appropriate communication; and timeliness.
94.4 percent of respondents stated that Justice Stephan should be retained in office. To read the full evaluation, see: Nebraska State Bar Association, 2012 Evaluation Results.
2006
Stephan was retained by voters in 2006, with 75 percent of the vote.[5]
2000
He was retained by voters in 2000, 76 percent of the vote.[6]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Stephan received a campaign finance score of -0.41, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.18 that justices received in Nebraska.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]
See also
External links
- Nebraska Judicial Branch
- Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Kenneth C. Stephan - District 1"
- JDJournal, "Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Ruling in Klan Cop Case," February 27, 2009
- Legal Newline.com, "Supreme Court ruling lowers liability bar for Nebraska companies," July 30, 2007
- Nebraska StatePaper.com, "Sentence Reduced for Killer of Jenna Cooper," August 11, 2006 (dead link)
Footnotes
- ↑ Omaha.com, "Judge Kenneth C. Stephan to retire after 18 years with Nebraska Supreme Court," May 14, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Kenneth C. Stephan - District 1," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Official Results of Nebraska General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "Judicial Candidate List for retention in office," July 16, 2012
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "2006 Election Results," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Nebraska Secretary of State, "2000 Election Results," accessed May 18, 2015
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
