# First woman's portrait unveiled in Capitol's historic 'Lawyers Room'  
**Published:** 2026-06-18T09:00:38.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/womans-flair-finally-enters-history-filled-lawyers-room-at-state-capitol/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/first-woman-s-portrait-unveiled-in-capitol-s-historic-lawyers-room

LINCOLN, Neb. — After nearly a century of displaying exclusively male faces, the State Capitol's historic "Lawyers Room" now includes a portrait of Nebraska's first woman Supreme Court justice.

Retired Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman's portrait was unveiled during a June 10 ceremony in the room adjacent to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals chambers, where [attorneys prepare before arguing before the state's highest courts](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/womans-flair-finally-enters-history-filled-lawyers-room-at-state-capitol/). The portrait, her 70th in the room, fills the last available corner space on a third wall.

"We were running out of real estate," Miller-Lerman quipped about her retirement timing, according to [the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/womans-flair-finally-enters-history-filled-lawyers-room-at-state-capitol/).

Miller-Lerman, who served as a Supreme Court justice for 27 years after being [appointed by then-Gov. Ben Nelson in 1998](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/27/justice-lindsey-miller-lerman-fi...), authored or participated in more than 5,800 legal opinions during her career. She also served six years as an inaugural judge on the Nebraska Court of Appeals when it was established in 1991, making her the first woman on a Nebraska court higher than the district court.

Chief Justice Jeffrey Funke, who served alongside Miller-Lerman for about a decade, described her as compassionate and a "deep thinker" who was highly regarded by lawyers and respected by colleagues. The room's portraits date [back to the mid-1850s](https://nebraskajudicial.gov/programs-services/community-engagement-and-public-information/timeline) and include justices who served on Nebraska's territorial court before statehood in 1867.

The Lawyers Room, sometimes called the "bullpen" in reference to baseball warm-up areas, serves as a space where attorneys prepare oral arguments. Funke said the room motivates young lawyers by displaying examples of legal excellence. "It's inspiring for lawyers, especially young lawyers, to say this is Nebraska — their judicial branch," Funke said.

Miller-Lerman's portrait carries particular significance for aspiring female attorneys. "If I'm a female, I can say, 'It's happened. I can follow that path.' I think that's important and motivational," Funke noted.

[Miller-Lerman was succeeded by Judge Derek R. Vaughn](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/10/pillen-appoints-first-justice-of-color-to-nebraska-supreme-court/), [the court's first African American justice appointed by Gov. Jim Pillen](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/10/pillen-appoints-first-justice-of-color-to-nebraska-supreme-court/). Justice Stephanie Stacy, appointed in 2015, remains the only other female member of the seven-member court.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/womans-flair-finally-enters-history-filled-lawyers-room-at-state-capitol/)
- [Nebraska Judicial Branch timeline of Supreme Court history](https://nebraskajudicial.gov/programs-services/community-engagement-and-public-information/timeline)
- [Nebraska Examiner article on Derek Vaughn's appointment to the Nebraska Supreme Court](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/11/10/pillen-appoints-first-justice-of-color-to-nebraska-supreme-court/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/18/womans-flair-finally-enters-history-filled-lawyers-room-at-state-capitol/.