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Jeffrey J. Funke, 55, is Nebraska’s 32nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, following the retirement of Mike Heavican, who served for 18 years. Nebraska Public Media’s Dale Johnson sat down with Chief Justice Funke and asked how in today’s politically charged environment, it’s possible to keep politics out of the courtroom.
Jeffrey Funke: When you look at the appointments of the members of the Supreme Court, they're appointed by the governor, and over the last 20-plus years, those governors have been Republicans, so it's common to think that they would appoint individuals that share their same values and thought processes. But when you are appointed as a judge, you take an oath to decide the law fairly and partially. So you have to set aside any preconceived notions of what you think the law is. You have to review the law as drafted by the legislature. You have to then apply that law to a set of facts that come to you and different types of cases, and you have to then be able to make a decision based on really what the law is as written. We're all Nebraskans. We all come from different parts of the state. We all have different backgrounds. Some are civil attorneys, some are criminal attorneys, some were prosecutors, some were defense attorneys. So all those different backgrounds helped form our understanding of the law.
Dale Johnson: Dec. 23 marks eight years since the Nebraska Supreme Court adopted a rule to allow cameras in the courtrooms, and you embraced it, promoted the concept of cameras in trial courts, even before you joined the High Court. Some say cameras allow the public to actually see how the justice system works, and others argue that cameras can influence the behavior of those in the courtroom. To what extent have you seen the latter to be true?
Funke: Years ago, people went to the courthouse and personally observed the trials and the activities that we're having in the courthouse, and that's how they became informed of what was happening in their community. When those days passed and people got busy and they relied on news organizations provide them the basis for what's happening in the community, we felt that it was important for expanding that ability for the news agencies to see what was happening in the court, to share the audio and the video so that the community could see firsthand the good work that was happening in the trial courts. I have not seen people behaving badly for the cameras. I've not seen judges or attorney's grandstanding because there's cameras in the courtroom. To be honest with you, most of the litigants and the judges forget the cameras are there, and they're just doing their job and they're trying to do it to the best of their ability. So I don't think it's really impacted negatively the processes of a trial. I know it hasn’t impacted the fair or partiality of the courts, and I really think it gives the public an insight to what's happening on high profile cases in our state, so they can better understand and make their own determinations of the work being done in the courtroom.
Johnson: Last month, you and Justice John Freudenberg were the two dissenting justices in a case involving whether the legislature, instead of the pardons board, could restore voting rights to felons after their sentence had been completed. Could you again express your reasoning for your dissent?
Funke: Well, I don't want to say too much in respect to the opinion kind of speaks for itself. The court, in an unusual situation, wrote, each justice wrote their own thoughts on the case. We had a procurement which means the whole court joined in a certain portion of the case, and each judge wrote separately, in my opinion, focused on the issues of separation of powers. It's focused on the specific statutory authority the secretary of state to decide issues of disputed election law, and I thought those were key points that I wanted to address and take to take part of my dissent to speak on those issues.
Johnson: What do you look forward to most in your tenure as Chief Justice?
Funke: To be honest with you, I truly enjoy working with other people. I've had a chance of the nearly 18 years I've been on the on the trial bench and the Supreme Court to work collaboratively with other judges, lawyers, lay people. So I look forward and can to continue to do that, to build collaboration, move the judiciary forward into the 21st century, to adjust to the changing times and the needs of the court users. There's a lot of good people out there that care about the courts, and it's important to get their input and understand their thoughts of how we can do a better job serving the citizens of the state. So I look forward to that cooperation.
Johnson: Chief Justice, thank you very much. You're a busy man. You have busy times ahead of you. I appreciate you taking time to talk to me.
Funke: Thank you very much.
Johnson: Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke joining me for the conversation on Nebraska Public Media. I'm Dale Johnson.