WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called junk car, car left on my property

A vehicle left unattended long enough that the law treats it as abandoned: more than six hours on public property with no plates, or more than seven days on private property without the owner's permission.

Also called restarting the clock on a debt, zombie debt

A written admission of a debt, or a promise to pay it. On a contract, it starts the period for suing again, and so does a voluntary part payment.

Also called signing the birth certificate, paternity form

A notarized form signed by the alleged father, creating a rebuttable presumption that he is the father. Any signer may rescind within sixty days, after which it is a legal finding of paternity.

Also called sleeping it off in the car, in control of the vehicle

Being in control of a motor vehicle without necessarily driving it. The DUI section makes it unlawful to operate or be in the actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence or at the limit.

Also called ALR, license taken after DUI arrest

The revocation of a license by the department, separate from the criminal case, that refusing a chemical test or failing one starts.

Also called small estate affidavit

A sworn statement a successor presents thirty days after a death to collect the person's personal property, where its total, less liens, is no more than one hundred thousand dollars.

Also called legal adult, nineteen

Nineteen. All persons under nineteen are minors, though a person who marries younger stops being one.

Also called spousal support, maintenance

Support one spouse may be ordered to pay the other in a divorce, set by the circumstances, the length of the marriage, contributions, interrupted careers, and the ability to work.

Also called warrantless arrest

An arrest a peace officer may make on reasonable cause to believe the person committed a felony, or a misdemeanor where the person would otherwise escape, may cause injury, may destroy evidence, or committed it in the officer's presence.

Also called windshield tint line

The line marked AS-1 on most windshields; where there is no mark, a line five inches below and parallel to the top. Below it, the windshield is clear and transparent.

Also called data breach, hack

Unauthorized acquisition of unencrypted computerized data that compromises the security, confidentiality or integrity of personal information.

Also called discrimination complaint, NEOC charge

A written charge under oath filed with the Equal Opportunity Commission within three hundred days after the practice.

Also called car seat, booster seat

A car seat meeting the federal standard. Every child up to eight years of age rides in one correctly installed, and every child up to two years of age rides rear-facing until outgrowing the seat's limits.

Also called ticket instead of arrest, cite and release

A citation issued in place of an arrest. For an offense classified as an infraction, a citation is issued rather than an arrest, apart from the exceptions the law lists.

Also called detox hold, protective custody

Custody an officer may use for an intoxicated person who is dangerous or incapacitated, only as long as needed to preserve life or prevent injury, and never longer than twenty-four hours.

Also called DUI class, first DUI penalty

The class that drunk driving carries, with a mandatory minimum of seven days and a five hundred dollars fine on a first conviction and a maximum of sixty days.

Also called fair sale

The standard a storage sale and its advertisement meet. An advertisement is commercially reasonable if at least three independent bidders attend the sale.

Also called CHP, carry permit, CCW permit

A permit under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act, valid statewide for five years. A person who is not a minor or a prohibited person may carry a concealed handgun with or without one, apart from the places the law lists.

Also called cognovit clause

A lease term authorizing someone to admit liability on the tenant's behalf. No rental agreement may contain one, and such a term is unenforceable.

Also called mechanic's lien, contractor's lien

A contractor's or supplier's lien on the property it improved, which does not attach unless recorded no later than one hundred twenty days after the final furnishing of services or materials.

Also called legal fireworks

The only fireworks a person may possess or discharge, sold at retail only between June 24 and July 5 and between December 28 and January 1, inside a city or village.

Also called interstate, freeway

A highway entered only at set points. On one with at least two lanes in the same direction, a driver passing a stopped vehicle on the same side moves at least one lane away from it.

Also called pattern of behavior

A series of acts over a period of time, however short, with a continuity of purpose, including following, detaining, or contacting or communicating with the person.

Also called records officer

The official who holds a public record and answers a written request for it, no more than four business days after receiving it.

Also called dating

Frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional or sexual involvement.

Also called lethal force

Force a person uses that is justifiable only where the person believes it necessary to protect against death, serious bodily harm, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.

Also called false advertising, bait and switch

A business misrepresenting goods or services, selling used goods as new, advertising with intent not to sell as advertised, faking price reductions, or billing for goods never ordered, among the acts the section lists.

Also called living will, advance directive

A signed statement by an adult of sound mind governing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, witnessed by two adults or a notary.

Also called payday loan, check advance

A payday loan, where the lender holds the borrower's check. The annual percentage rate may not exceed thirty-six percent, and no check is held more than thirty-four days.

Also called seller disclosure, property condition form

A written statement of a home's condition that a seller of one to four dwelling units signs and delivers on or before the contract binding the buyer.

Also called take home pay, garnishment limit

Earnings left after deductions required by law. No more of a week's disposable earnings may be garnished than the least of twenty-five percent, the amount above thirty times the federal minimum hourly wage, or fifteen percent for a head of a family.

Also called disorderly conduct, breach of the peace

Intentionally disturbing the peace and quiet of any person, family or neighborhood, a Class III misdemeanor.

Also called protection order, restraining order

A court order for a victim of domestic abuse that can bar contact, remove the respondent from the residence, give temporary custody for up to ninety days, and bar firearms, for at least one year but not more than two years.

Also called pipe, bong, rolling papers

Equipment used to manufacture, inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise take a controlled substance into the body. Using it, or possessing it with intent to use it that way, is an infraction.

Also called POA, power of attorney

A document naming an agent that survives the principal's incapacity. Under the Nebraska act a power of attorney is durable unless it expressly says otherwise, and it is acknowledged before a notary.

Also called Good Samaritan law, helping at an accident

Care given without pay at the scene of an accident or emergency. The one who gives it is not liable for civil damages for what they did or failed to do in giving it.

Also called work permit, working papers

A certificate an employer procures and keeps on file before employing any child under sixteen years of age.

Also called work permit to drive, hardship license

A permit that may let a person whose license was revoked for points drive a noncommercial vehicle for work, as may a medical hardship driving permit.

Also called move-in fee, move-out fee

A charge a mobile home park may not impose for moving a home in or out, unless it is for services actually rendered or under a written agreement.

Also called heat, running water, utilities

Running water, hot water, heat and the like. Where the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply them, the tenant may, after written notice, procure them and deduct the cost, recover damages, or move to substitute housing and owe no rent.

Also called proof of insurance, insurance card

Proof that a current liability policy covers the vehicle. It may be shown as an electronic image on a phone, and an owner who cannot produce it has ten days after the request to show the prosecutor it was in force.

Also called emergency order, temporary order

Issued without the other side being heard first. A protection order may be issued ex parte where the affidavit shows immediate danger, and it is a temporary order until a hearing or the time to request one passes.

Also called trespassing in a building, breaking in

Entering or secretly remaining in a building or occupied structure, knowing one is not licensed or privileged to be there, a Class I misdemeanor.

Also called habitability, livable

The condition a landlord keeps a rental in: making repairs after notice, substantially complying with housing codes that affect health and safety, and keeping the systems and supplied appliances in good and safe working order.

Also called civil forfeiture, seized cash, seized car

Losing property to the state because it was used in a drug crime. A petition for its disposition is filed within ten days of a seizure, and anyone with an interest may answer within thirty days after it.

Also called quitting for a reason

A reason for leaving work that keeps a worker eligible. One who leaves voluntarily without good cause is disqualified until earning four times the weekly benefit amount in insured work.

Also called calling 911 for an overdose, Good Samaritan

A call for help for an overdose, made as soon as the emergency was apparent. Where the caller stayed and cooperated, neither the caller nor the person overdosing is in violation of the possession or paraphernalia sections.

Also called cell phone, texting while driving

A phone or similar device. No one may use one to read, manually type or send a written communication while operating a motor vehicle that is in motion.

Also called harassment

To engage in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously terrifies, threatens or intimidates the person and which serves no legitimate purpose.

Also called medical power of attorney, health care proxy

A written, dated document naming a competent adult, and a successor, to make health care decisions when the principal cannot, witnessed by two adults or acknowledged before a notary who is not the agent.

Also called staying past the lease, holding over

A tenant staying without consent after the term ends. If it is willful and not in good faith, the tenant may owe up to three months' rent or three times the actual damages, and attorney's fees.

Also called handwritten will

A will that is valid without witnesses because the signature, the material provisions, and an indication of the date are in the maker's own handwriting.

Also called door to door sale

A personally solicited sale of consumer goods or services of twenty-five dollars or more, agreed to somewhere other than the seller's place of business, which the buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day.

Also called home exemption from creditors

The dwelling a person lives in, with its land, exempt from judgment liens and forced sale up to one hundred twenty thousand dollars in value.

Also called property tax break, form 458

An exemption from property tax on a percentage of a homestead's exempt amount, set by household income, applied for with the county assessor after February 1 and on or before June 30.

Also called stolen identity

Knowingly taking, possessing or using another person's identifying information without consent, to use their identity unlawfully, to cause loss, or to gain a benefit.

Also called interlock, breathalyzer in the car

The permit a person applies for during the license revocation that follows a DUI conviction, to drive a vehicle fitted with an ignition interlock.

Also called deemed consent, consent to a chemical test

The consent to a chemical test of blood, breath or urine that every person who operates or controls a motor vehicle in Nebraska is deemed to have given, which an officer with reasonable grounds may require after an arrest.

Also called guardianship, incompetent

A person who lacks the understanding to make or communicate responsible decisions. A verified petition states specifically where, and the court sets a hearing before appointing a guardian.

Also called ticket, civil offense

An offense that is not a crime of any class. Where no other penalty is set, a first offense is a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.

Also called dying without a will, who inherits

What a spouse takes when there is no will: the entire estate with no issue and no parent, the first one hundred fifty thousand dollars plus half the rest in some cases, and half where a child is not the spouse's.

Also called partner, ex

A spouse or former spouse, a person with whom one has a child in common, or a person in a current or past dating relationship.

Also called no fault divorce, grounds for divorce

The finding a Nebraska divorce rests on. If both spouses say under oath that the marriage is irretrievably broken, or one does and the other does not deny it, the court makes the finding after a hearing.

Also called parents liable for kids

Liable together and each for the whole. Parents are jointly and severally liable for the willful and intentional property destruction and personal injury their minor children cause.

Also called fence cost sharing

An equitable share of a division fence between adjoining landowners, either a share of the fenceline or of its cost, equal unless otherwise agreed.

Also called blade, dirk, dagger

Under the weapons article, any dagger, dirk, knife or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inches that, as used or intended, can produce death or serious bodily injury, and any other dangerous instrument used to cut, stab or tear.

Also called three months' rent, lockout damages

A sum fixed by law rather than proven loss. A tenant unlawfully removed, excluded, or cut off from an essential service recovers three months' periodic rent as liquidated damages and a reasonable attorney's fee.

Also called trash, dumping

All waste material that can be dropped or discarded, meaning material in a place not associated with its function or origin.

Also called compulsory school age

The ages a child must attend school: from reaching six years of age before January 1 of the school year until reaching eighteen years of age.

Also called material breach

A breach serious enough to end the agreement. For one by the landlord affecting health and safety, the tenant's written notice ends the agreement at least thirty days after receipt unless it is remedied in fourteen days.

Also called fired for cause

Conduct connected with the work that disqualifies a discharged worker from benefits for the week of the discharge and the fourteen weeks after it.

Also called vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter

Unintentionally causing another's death while operating a motor vehicle in violation of state law or a city ordinance.

Also called no contact after arrest

The time after an arrest for domestic or sexual assault during which the arrested person may not contact the victim or go to the victim's residence, ending at 11:59 p.m. on the third day after the arrest.

Also called lemon, defect

A defect that keeps a new vehicle from conforming to its warranty. One that substantially impairs use and market value and survives four or more repairs, or forty days out of service, is presumed beyond a reasonable number of attempts.

Also called foreclosure notice

The notice a trustee records with the register of deeds, stating the breach and the election to sell, before a trust deed's power of sale can be used. The trustor has one month after it to cure.

Also called reporting a work injury

Written notice to the employer, as soon as practicable, stating in ordinary language the time, place and cause of a work injury. No compensation proceeding goes forward without it.

Also called knock and announce, no-knock warrant

The announcement an officer gives before forcing entry. After giving notice of office and purpose and being refused admittance, an officer may break open a door or window.

Also called farm foreclosure notice

The written notice a mortgagee sends before foreclosing a mortgage on land used in farming, giving the mortgagor two months to pay what is due.

Also called obstruction, interfering with police

Obstructing, impairing or hindering a peace officer enforcing the law by violence, force, physical interference or an obstacle, a Class I misdemeanor.

Also called seat belt

A seat belt. No driver may operate a motor vehicle unless the driver and each front seat occupant wear a properly adjusted and fastened occupant protection system.

Also called open container, open beer

Any bottle, can or other receptacle holding alcohol that is open, has a broken seal, or has had some of its contents removed.

Also called fleeing, evading police, running from the police

Fleeing in a vehicle to avoid arrest or a citation, a Class I misdemeanor, and a Class IV felony after a prior conviction or where the flight causes death or injury.

Also called storage lien

The lien a self-service storage operator holds on everything in a unit for unpaid rent and charges, which the rental agreement states in bold type.

Also called inside the car

The part of a vehicle where no one may possess an open alcoholic beverage container on a highway or in a public parking area. The area behind the last upright seat of a vehicle without a trunk is not part of it.

Also called being served, service of process

The completed delivery of the divorce papers to the other spouse. No divorce is heard or tried until sixty days after it.

Also called rent due date

The date rent falls due. A month-to-month tenancy ends by written notice given at least thirty days before the periodic rental date the notice names.

Also called PR bond, released on your own recognizance, ROR

Release on a promise to appear, without money. A bailable defendant is released on personal recognizance unless the judge decides it will not reasonably assure appearance, or could endanger evidence or other people.

Also called executor, administrator

The person who acts for an estate. A wrongful death action is brought by the personal representative within two years after the death, for the widow or widower and next of kin.

Also called pet fee

An additional deposit a landlord may take for a pet, of up to one-fourth of one month's rent.

Also called points on a license, driving record points

The schedule of points assessed for each traffic conviction. Twelve or more points within any period of two years revokes the license and requires a driver improvement course.

Also called PRS, supervision after prison

A period of supervision after imprisonment that comes with the lower felony classes: twelve months for a Class IV felony, eighteen months for a Class IIIA, and two years for a Class III.

Also called primary aggressor

The person an officer finds most responsible where domestic assault complaints come from both sides, weighing prior complaints, the injuries, the likelihood of future injury and justified self defense.

Also called PBT, roadside breath test

A breath test an officer with probable cause may require at the roadside of a driver under twenty-one; a driver who refuses it or fails it is placed under arrest.

Also called one party consent

Agreement by one of the parties to a communication, given before it is intercepted. A person who is a party to a wire, electronic or oral communication, or has a party's prior consent, may intercept it unless the purpose is a criminal or tortious act.

Also called person barred from guns, felon in possession

A person the weapons article bars from possessing a firearm, including anyone previously convicted of a felony, a fugitive from justice, a person knowingly violating a current protection order, and a person convicted within the past seven years of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Also called joyriding, borrowed car

An automobile, airplane, motorcycle, motorboat or other motor-propelled vehicle. Operating another's without consent is unauthorized use of a propelled vehicle.

Also called city council, school board

A government board or council whose meetings are open so citizens may attend and speak, because the formation of public policy is public business.

Also called government records, open records

All records and documents, in any form, of the state, a county, city, village, political subdivision or tax-supported district, and any of their agencies.

Also called senior homestead exemption

An owner of the homestead during the year of the claim who was sixty-five years of age or older before January 1 of that year.

Also called basic speed rule, too fast for conditions

The speed every driver keeps whatever the posted number: no faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions, with care at intersections, crossings, curves, hillcrests and hazards.

Also called render aid, hit and run duty

The help a driver in an injury crash gives, including taking an injured person for treatment if it is plainly needed or asked for.

Also called mandatory reporter, duty to report

The standard that triggers the duty to report child abuse or neglect, which reaches physicians, nurses, school employees and any other person.

Also called suspicion, a Terry stop

What a peace officer needs to stop a person in a public place: a reasonable suspicion that the person is committing, has committed or is about to commit a crime. With it, the officer may demand a name, address and an explanation.

Also called driving recklessly

Driving in a manner showing an indifferent or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

Also called redeeming from a tax sale

Paying the county treasurer the sum in the tax sale certificate with interest, later taxes and fees, to keep property sold for taxes. The right ends when the purchaser files an application for a tax deed.

Also called resisting an officer

Trying to prevent a peace officer from making an arrest by using or threatening force or violence, by means creating a substantial risk of injury, or by resistance that takes substantial force to overcome.

Also called private lot, tow away zone

A properly posted lot where parking without the owner's or tenant's consent is an infraction, and the vehicle may be towed at the lot owner's request.

Also called retaliation, retaliatory eviction

A landlord raising the rent, cutting services, or bringing or threatening an action for possession because the tenant complained to a code agency or joined a tenants' union.

Also called duty to retreat, stand your ground, castle doctrine

Withdrawing to avoid a confrontation. Deadly force is not justifiable where the person knows it can be avoided with complete safety by retreating, but no one need retreat from their dwelling or place of work unless they were the initial aggressor.

Also called sealing, not part of the public record

A record removed from the public record. A person cannot be questioned about an offense whose record is sealed on an application for a job, license or education, and may answer as if it never occurred.

Also called frisk, pat down

The search an officer may make of a person stopped on reasonable suspicion when the officer reasonably suspects being in danger of life or limb, limited to finding a dangerous weapon.

Also called trespassing on land, no trespassing sign

Entering or remaining in a place after notice against trespass, given directly, by posting, or by a fence plainly meant to keep intruders out, knowing one is not licensed or privileged to be there.

Also called secondary enforcement

Enforcement only alongside another violation. The texting rule is enforced only when the driver has been cited or charged with another traffic violation or offense.

Also called damage deposit, deposit

Money a landlord holds against unpaid rent and damage. It may not exceed one month's periodic rent, apart from a pet deposit, and the balance goes back with a written itemization within fourteen days after the tenancy ends.

Also called notarized will

A will made with the maker's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before a notary, so the witnesses need not be found later.

Also called final paycheck, last check

Leaving a job for any reason. When a private employer separates an employee, the unpaid wages are due on the next regular payday or within two weeks of termination, whichever is sooner.

Also called expungement, clearing a conviction

A court order that nullifies a conviction and removes the civil disabilities it imposed, available after probation, a fine only, or a sentence of not more than one year.

Also called countersuing

A defendant's own claim against the plaintiff, filed and delivered at least two days before the small claims trial.

Also called protection order hearing

The hearing where a respondent may show why a temporary protection order should not remain in effect, held within thirty days after a timely request.

Also called grandparent rights

What a grandparent shows by clear and convincing evidence to win visitation, along with the child's best interests and no adverse interference with the parent-child relationship.

Also called small claims

A court for civil claims of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars, beginning July 1, 2025, where parties appear without attorneys and a judge decides without a jury.

Also called the ceremony, officiated

Performed by a person authorized by law. A marriage is valid only if the license was used within one year from issuance and the marriage was solemnized.

Also called treasurer's deed

The deed a county treasurer issues to a tax sale purchaser of property not redeemed, after three months' notice to the owner and the waiting period the section sets.

Also called server wage, tip credit

The rate for an employee paid partly in tips: at least two dollars and thirteen cents an hour plus all tips, with the section protecting the total.

Also called deed of trust, mortgage

A security instrument with a trustee who holds a power of sale. Cured within the time allowed, it is reinstated as if no acceleration had occurred.

Also called grossly unfair

An act or practice by a supplier in a consumer transaction so unfair that it violates the deceptive trade practices act. Whether it is unconscionable is a question of law for the court.

Also called job discrimination

An employer refusing to hire, firing, harassing, or discriminating in pay or conditions because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, national origin, or military or veteran status.

Also called illegal interest, loan sharking

Contracting for or taking interest above the sixteen percent ceiling where no other section allows more. The lender then recovers only the principal, without interest.

Also called voter ID, photo ID

A document from the United States, Nebraska, a Nebraska agency, political subdivision or college, the military, Veterans Affairs or a recognized tribe, or a care facility record, showing the person's name and photograph.

Also called pardon board discharge

A warrant from the Board of Pardons restoring a person sentenced for a felony to the civil rights it names, such as jury service or public office.

Also called willful reckless

Driving in a manner showing a willful disregard for the safety of persons or property, which on a first conviction brings a driving ban of thirty days to one year.

Also called eviction order, writ of possession

The order that restores possession to a landlord who wins an action for possession, on a date not more than ten days after it issues.

Also called receipt for seized property, warrant return

The list of what officers took under a search warrant, made in the presence of the person if they are there, or before a credible witness, with a copy of the warrant and a receipt left behind.