Lancaster County will get a fourth juvenile judge under a judicial reallocation plan that moves two judge positions to areas with heavier caseloads.

LB377, given first-round approval Tuesday, also includes 3.5 percent raises for all state court judges in each of the next two years.

Lancaster County, with three juvenile judges, handles almost as many cases as Douglas County, with five juvenile judges, according to information from the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

Lancaster County had a juvenile caseload of 1,935 in 2006, compared to a 2,163 caseload in Douglas County.

Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha said reassigning the judicial positions had the support of the Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission.

Lancaster County would get a county judge position now assigned to District 12 in the Panhandle that has been vacant for several years.

The plan would also move one of the five judgeships in District 12 to District 9, which includes Buffalo and Hall counties.

Two district judges are retiring in District 12 this year: Judge Robert Hippe, based in Gering, and Judge Paul Empson, based in Chadron.

Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard objected to the reallocation because judges in the Panhandle have to cover a larger territory, even if they hear fewer cases.

“I think it’s a hindrance for justice in my communities,” Erdman said.

District court judges handle felony cases, divorces, domestic abuse protection orders and major civil cases.

Supreme Court judges’ salaries will move from $126,846 to $133,505 in July of 2007 and to $140,514 in 2008. Other judges’ salaries are based on the Supreme Court salaries. Salaries for the lowest paid judges, county judges, will move from the current $114,162 a year to $126,463 in two years.