Shall Judge Katie L. Benson of the Douglas County District Court be retained in office?

Testified for LB1097 funding to expand Douglas County's Young Adult Court, describing a post-plea program linking eligible 18-to-24-year-olds with education, jobs and restitution before dismissal of their cases.

February 5, 2020Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: nebraskalegislature.gov

Testified for LB1097 funding to expand Douglas County's Young Adult Court, describing a post-plea program linking eligible 18-to-24-year-olds with education, jobs and restitution before dismissal of their cases.

February 5, 2020Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: nebraskalegislature.gov

Ordered foreclosure of a judgment lien on Maman Lawan Ali's marital residence and a sale subject to a 20-day payment deadline. The appeal challenged application of homestead protections and the other spouse's co-ownership rights.

October 7, 2026

Source: nebraskajudicial.gov

Granted Isaac Ondekane a preliminary injunction allowing him to play for Omaha during 2026–27 while his NCAA eligibility lawsuit remained pending.

July 1, 2026

Source: ketv.com

Mentored law students and young attorneys through the Robert M. Spire American Inn of Court for more than a decade.

June 24, 2022

Source: omahadailyrecord.com

Received appointment as a district court judge in Nebraska's Fourth Judicial District, filling the newly created eighteenth judgeship.

June 17, 2022

Source: nebraskajudicial.gov

Objected to LB1036's replacement of judges with referees in problem-solving courts, citing bond, sanctions, eligibility, termination and hearing-delay concerns. She supported expanding access to those courts but opposed the proposed referee structure.

February 2, 2022

Source: leg.ne.gov

Opposed LB1035's removal of Douglas County's $15 monthly drug-court testing fee. She described flexible payment arrangements and said unpaid fees caused no termination or sanction, but also said payment remained a requirement for graduation.

February 2, 2022

Source: leg.ne.gov

Submitted a letter on LB548 objecting to placement of the Racial Injustice Act's statutory remedy within Nebraska's Postconviction Act. She recommended a separate remedy and expressly said that she did not oppose the Racial Injustice Act itself.

February 25, 2021

Source: nebraskalegislature.gov

Opposed LB28's proposed new-trial grounds involving previously unavailable witnesses and removal of a five-year deadline. She cited unclear drafting, perjury risks and faded evidence, while stating that exculpatory evidence deserved consideration under existing exceptions.

January 29, 2021

Source: leg.ne.gov

Testified against LB1081's expansion of postconviction challenges after release from custody. She argued that its language about consequences of guilty pleas was unclear and that existing constitutional protections already addressed those concerns.

February 19, 2020

Source: leg.ne.gov

Alerted an Omaha World-Herald reporter to a convicted shooter's prison day pass. The reporter's investigation then exposed Nebraska's miscalculation of release dates for hundreds of prisoners.

September 15, 2014

Source: cjr.org

Denied buyers' request for attorney fees under a warranty deed in Morris v. Dall because they retained title to the property. The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed her ruling that the title-defense dispute did not establish a breach of warranty.

August 7, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

In the Nebraska State Bar Association's 2026 judicial evaluation poll, lawyers rated her reasoned rulings 4.9 out of 6, and 83.75% of respondents recommended her retention.

July 27, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nebar.com

Rejected Hartman's postconviction claim that counsel ignored an instruction to appeal, after crediting the lawyer's records and testimony. The Court of Appeals affirmed and found no separate duty to consult about an appeal on that record.

December 16, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nebraskajudicial.gov

Denied Westside Community Schools' renewed request for a writ compelling repayment of diverted tax-related payments and dismissed the case with prejudice. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed that denial and dismissal, but affirmed her earlier decision to vacate the first writ.

August 22, 2025Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: nebraska.gov

Sentenced Christopher Bland to 18 months in jail, with 232 days of credit, after guilty pleas to attempted second-degree assault and terroristic threats stemming from an Omaha gas-station shooting.

July 24, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: wowt.com

Presided over Corral's jury trial, ruled on expert testimony, and imposed prison sentences for child sexual assault and child abuse. The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences and rejected the claimed trial errors.

May 16, 2025Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: nebraska.gov

Sentenced Bret as a repeat-offender felon without sufficient proof of the prior convictions needed for that classification. The Nebraska Supreme Court vacated the felony classification and sentence and returned the case for a properly supported sentencing proceeding.

May 16, 2025Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Imposed 90 days in jail followed by three years of probation for Marcus Brown's felony theft conviction. The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but vacated the entire sentence because that combination was not authorized for the felony.

August 2, 2024Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Classified a premarital house's passive appreciation as separate property and a commingled investment account as marital property in Covington v. Covington. The Court of Appeals affirmed the property division and equalization award.

May 31, 2024Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Dismissed Saint James Apartment Partners' bond claim against a notary's surety because the plaintiffs had not also sued the notary. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed, finding that the statute allowed a suit against the surety alone.

April 25, 2024Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Excluded unsupported medical-bill testimony and denied requests for a directed verdict and a new trial in Perry v. Streittmatter, a car-crash injury lawsuit. The Court of Appeals affirmed her rulings.

December 26, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Dismissed Ramos's life-insurance lawsuit on summary judgment. The Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of the agent-negligence claim but reversed dismissal of the insurer's contract and bad-faith claims because disputed facts remained.

November 9, 2023Unfavorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Granted summary judgment to a lawyer in Titus v. Schense because the malpractice claimant did not counter expert evidence that the lawyer met professional standards. The Court of Appeals affirmed, including her refusal to stay the case or appoint civil counsel.

November 7, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Denied a father's request for sole custody in Perlman v. Perlman and adjusted parenting time after the mother's move within Nebraska. The Court of Appeals affirmed her custody and parenting-time rulings.

September 5, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Awarded a father sole physical custody in Wagner v. Wagner after weighing the child's preference and other custody factors, and denied related contempt requests. The Court of Appeals affirmed both orders in August 2024.

July 10, 2023Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Worked for two and a half years as a law clerk in Nebraska's Fourth Judicial District before becoming a Douglas County prosecutor.

June 24, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: omahadailyrecord.com

Served as a Douglas County deputy attorney from 2008 until her 2022 judicial appointment, handling felony prosecutions and postconviction litigation and overseeing problem-solving courts.

June 24, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: omahadailyrecord.com

Taught criminal procedure for five years as an adjunct instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

June 24, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: omahadailyrecord.com

Represented the State in Earnest Jackson's juvenile resentencing proceedings after the U.S. Supreme Court barred automatic life sentences for juvenile offenders, as she recounted in Nebraska legislative testimony.

January 29, 2021Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: leg.ne.gov

Represented the State in its appeal seeking a harsher sentence for Paula Boyd's vulnerable-adult-abuse conviction. The Court of Appeals rejected the leniency challenge and affirmed six months of probation and a $5,000 fine, while also rejecting Boyd's challenge to the conviction.

September 22, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com

Appeared for the State at James Myers's DNA-testing hearing after an earlier remand. The district court denied his requests for DNA testing and appointment of counsel, and the Nebraska Supreme Court later affirmed the denial.

March 26, 2019Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: supremecourt.gov

Represented the State at Barber's postconviction hearing and argued that his remaining claims lacked facts showing prejudice. The district court denied relief, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

February 3, 2017Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: supremecourt.gov

Represented the State in State v. Rice, an appeal over payment for court-appointed defense counsel. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the fee denial and assigned the matter to a different judge; the State had not contested the fees at the underlying hearing.

December 9, 2016Favorable on Legal Competence

Source: law.justia.com