§ 71-6904 — Appeal; procedure; confidentiality

(1) An appeal to the Supreme Court
shall be available to any pregnant woman for whom a court denies an order
authorizing an abortion without consent. An order authorizing
an abortion without consent shall not be subject
to appeal.
(2) An adverse ruling by the court may be appealed to the
Supreme Court.
(3) A pregnant woman may file a notice of appeal of any final
order to the Supreme Court. The State Court Administrator shall develop the
form for notice of appeal and accompanying instructions on the procedure for
an appeal. A sufficient number of forms for notice of appeal and instructions
shall be made available in each courthouse in such place that members of the
general public can obtain a form and instructions without requesting such
form and instructions from the clerk of the court or other court personnel.
(4) The clerk of the court shall cause the court transcript
and bill of exceptions to be filed with the Supreme Court within four business
days, but in no event later than seven calendar days, from the date of the
filing of the notice of appeal.
(5) In all appeals under this section the pregnant woman shall
have the right of a confidential and expedited appeal and the right to counsel
at the appellate level if not already represented. Such counsel shall be appointed
by the court and shall receive a fee to be fixed by the court and to be paid
out of the treasury of the county in which the proceeding was held. The pregnant
woman shall not be required to appear.
(6) The Supreme Court shall hear the appeal de novo on the
record and issue a written decision which shall be provided immediately to
the pregnant woman, the pregnant woman's guardian ad litem, the pregnant woman's
attorney, or any other person designated by the pregnant woman to receive
the order.
(7) The Supreme Court shall rule within seven calendar days
from the time of the docketing of the appeal in the Supreme Court.
(8) The Supreme Court shall adopt and promulgate rules to
ensure that proceedings under this section are handled in a confidential and
expeditious manner.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1991, LB 425, § 4; Laws 2011, LB690, § 8. Annotations: A petition for waiver of parental consent-which seeks authorization from the court to have an abortion without the notarized written consent of a parent or guardian of the petitioner-is limited in scope. In re Petition of Anonymous 5, 286 Neb. 640, 838 N.W.2d 226 (2013). In an appeal brought under the provisions of section 71-6901 et seq., this section provides that the Nebraska Supreme Court reappraises the evidence as presented by the record and reaches its own independent conclusions with respect to the matters at issue; however, it considers, and may give weight to, the fact that the judge below heard and observed the witnesses. In re Petition of Anonymous I, 251 Neb. 424, 558 N.W.2d 784 (1997).