‘It has been an honor’: Lancaster County judge set to retire after three decades

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Lancaster County Court Judge Laurie Yardley announced her retirement Thursday, effective Aug. 1.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Lancaster County as a judge for the past thirty years,” Yardley wrote in her notice to the governor. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to the administration of justice in the community.”

Yardley was appointed to the Lancaster County Court in 1995.

Her peers in the legal profession honored her as a Nebraska State Bar Foundation Fellow, a distinction awarded to people of exceptional integrity and character who have made lasting contributions to the legal profession in Nebraska.

Throughout her career, Yardley has worked to expand court access and improve community interactions.

She initiated the county court amnesty day and actively promoted Lancaster County’s night court.

Yardley has been an advocate for the Nebraska High School Mock Trial program, serving as a regional coordinator and tireless promoter of the program.

She has also made contributions to the judiciary through her service on numerous committees for both the Nebraska Supreme Court and the Nebraska County Judges Association.

Yardley was elected to all officer positions within the association, including serving as its president.

She served as presiding judge of the Lancaster County Court on a rotating basis and was retained by area voters throughout her tenure.

The first step in replacing Yardley will be for the Judicial Resources Commission to call a meeting to determine whether, based on judicial workload statistics, her retirement creates a judicial vacancy.