Piccolo appointed as District Judge
Governor Pete Ricketts has appointed Michael E. Piccolo of North Platte to the District Court of the Eleventh Judicial District.
Piccolo, 64, currently serves as a County Judge in the Eleventh Judicial District. In his eight years in that position, Piccolo has handled criminal and civil cases in a dozen Nebraska counties.
Judge Piccolo has presided over nearly 48,000 cases in his eight years as a County Judge. He has also served on numerous commissions and committees by invitation or by appointment of the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Before serving as County Judge, Piccolo practiced law in Nebraska for 26 years, covering a wide variety of legal disciplines. While practicing, Piccolo argued many cases before the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Nebraska Court of Appeals.
Piccolo holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Juris Doctor from the Creighton University School of Law.
He is a member of the Nebraska County Judges Association and serves as a judicial member of the Nebraska Supreme Court Committee on Problem-Solving Courts. He is also a member of the DUI Task Force subcommittee and the state-wide Strategic Plan subcommittee for the Problem-Solving Courts.
Piccolo has previously served on the Nebraska Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts and was a founding member of the Nebraska Mediation Association. Piccolo has also been the host judge for the annual Adoption Day Celebration in North Platte for the last several years.
Felicia K. Fair of Ogallala was the other nominee considered by Gov. Ricketts.
The Judicial Nominating Commission for the District Court, 11th Judicial District forwarded the two names for the governor’s consideration after a public hearing on Oct. 16 to review five applicants.
Other applicants included Michael L. Nozicka and Tanya K. Roberts-Connick of North Platte and Joel B. Jay of Chappell.
The district includes Arthur, Chase, Dawson, Dundy, Furnas, Hayes, Frontier, Gosper, Hitchcock, Hooker, Keith, Lincoln, Logan, McPherson, Perkins, Red Willow and Thomas counties.
The primary place of office for the judicial vacancy is North Platte in Lincoln County. The vacancy was due to the retirement of Judge Donald E. Rowlands.