LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed an attorney from North Platte as a district judge in central Nebraska. Heineman on Thursday named 58-year-old Richard Birch to the bench in the 11th Judicial District. Birch, who has practiced law for 32 years in Nebraska, replaces Judge John Murphy, who retired earlier this summer. The district covers 17 central and western counties and is based in North Platte.