Lincoln-Based Judge to Retire After Nearly 33 Years on Bench

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County Court Judge James Foster has announced his retirement.

The judge, based in Lincoln, recently submitted his notice to Gov. Pete Ricketts indicating his plan to retire Jan. 31, after nearly 33 years on the bench.

Foster was appointed to the bench in August 1983 and was retained by voters through several elections — most recently in 2010.

Fellow Lancaster County Court Judge Laurie Yardley says Foster will be “greatly missed for his wisdom, knowledge, compassion and humor.”

The Judicial Resources Commission will meet to determine whether, based on judicial workload statistics, Foster’s retirement creates a vacancy in the Third Judicial District.