Echo of Its Time

John Wunder and Mark Scherer have produced a first-rate book on the history of the federal district court in Nebraska. Their book, Echo of Its Time: The History of the Federal District Court of Nebraska, 1867–1933 is a major contribution to the judicial history of the Great Plains. Wunder has provided a profound record of juridical history throughout his exemplary career. Echo of Time builds on his vast record. Scherer, a highly accomplished legal historian, serves as an insightful co-author. Nebraska’s statehood in 1867 “meant a new court and new experience in justice.” The political maneuvering along with the Civil War fallout created rapid change for Nebraska. As the authors so aptly observed: “in fact, change was rapid though partial with Nebraska’s lower federal courts at the cusp of that change. The 1860s and 1870s saw Congress increase dramatically the jurisdiction of its federal courts” (p. 27). And, “[I]n the beginning Nebraska needed a judge” (p. 28). Thus, the movement of federal judicial history in Nebraska was on its trek.

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