- The nine applicants for the open seat on the Nevada Supreme Court are:
- Michael Edward Buckley, 66, Las Vegas, Attorney
- Elissa F. Cadish, 52, Las Vegas, Judge
- Harriet E. Cummings, 56, Carson City, Attorney
- Chris William Davis, 56, Las Vegas, Attorney
- Mark Ralph Denton, 65, Las Vegas, Judge
- Susan Holland Johnson, 57, Henderson, Judge
- Michael King Powell, 68, Gardnerville, Attorney
- Lidia S. Stiglich, 46, Reno, Judge
- Paul Gordon Taggart, 50, Washoe Valley, Attorney
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All of the applications, with the exceptions of medical records and personal identification information, will be available on the Supreme Court website. The Commission invites written public comments about the qualifications of the applicants. As noted in the rules of the Commission on Judicial Selection, letters may remain confidential if requested by the letter writer; however, the contents may be discussed with the applicant during executive session. Anonymous letters may not be considered at the discretion of the Commissioners.
Submit written comments regarding the applicants by 5 p.m. on October 14 to:
Robin Sweet
Secretary, Commission on Judicial Selection
Nevada Supreme Court
201 S. Carson St., Suite 250
Carson City, Nevada, 89701
The Commission will deliberate and nominate three finalists for each open seat. Those names will be submitted to Governor Brian Sandoval for the appointment. Of course, your are also welcome to comment on the applicants below.
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Attorneys weighed in on Friday on the need for bar guidance on medical marijuana issues. [
RJ]
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We’ve got some news for you on the Morris Law Group joining up with Snell Wilmer. Apparently, the crew from Morris have already completed their Snell training and will start moving in today with their official start date on Thursday. For those of you wondering whether Steve Morris will be bringing his dog to the new office, not everyone at Snell is in favor, but apparently he is pushing the issue with Hughes Center management. Finally, one of the downsides of mergers (or any job change for that matter) is that it creates new conflicts. Justice Kris Pickering (who is married to Steve Morris), recuses herself from any matters involving his firm. Although the merger hasn’t officially happened yet, she recused herself from oral argument on Thursday in an HOA case in which Snell represents Wells Fargo. Pickering was in the SFR Investments 4-3 majority (which also included the now retired Justice Saitta) and, based on the oral argument, it appeared that Justice Hardesty (also in the SFR majority) was trying to find a reason to not reach the constitutional arguments against NRS 116. This was somewhat bizarre, given the scores of HOA cases on appeal making similar constitutional arguments. Perhaps he did this so that the court could wait until a non-Snell case comes up so that Pickering could join in the decision?
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Lastly, we just want to take a moment and acknowledge that yesterday was the 15-year anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Never forget.
Cadish and Denton are the wrong party. I would suspect Stiglich and Johnson fight it out.
I respect Johnson, Cadish and Denton. But….
Not sure Denton has any starch left in him.
Cadish is smart with a lot of starch left but mindlessly liberal.
Johnson has starch, smarts and might occasionally buck left-wing dogma, but she a bit too establishment. (Remember the little people, Susan!)
Sigh. I guess I am going for Johnson – even though I am a founding member of the "We need more Johnsons (Dick) on the bench" society.
Sandoval has appointed democrats and republicans, and I don't think he cares that much at this point. Anyway, I'm seeing Stiglich if she makes it through. Sandoval is a Washoe County guy…. maybe he tries to bring some regional balance to the court.
Stiglich is young (for a Supreme Court justice) and would bring regional balance, female. SHJ is not intellectual enough to be on the Court. However after the back-scratching appointment of her husband, I could totally see SHJ getting the appointment.
I would like to see Denton get it. Glad he put his name in. I would not be opposed to Susan Johnson either.
Who is more liberal, Eric Johnson or Susan Johnson?
That is like giving us a choice between Santorum and Ted Cruz.
that's like asking who is uglier: hunchback of Notre Dame or Susan Boyle?
It is a valid question.
Baby Johnson is the most liberal.
Come on, now, Team Johnson has bipartisan support. Glen Lerner and Bryan.
Well in my opinion Susan Boyle is more ugly.
I would vote for Barney Rubble before I would vote for Eric Johnson.
Barney Rubbel would run his court room faster than Eric Johnson does, especially with civil matters.
I love Barney Rubble. Thank you for the laugh.
I don't think Judge Johnson is well known throughout Nevada. I'd never heard of her until I worked amongst the 8th JD -but Judge Denton is. Also think he would be the best pick among them all – but I could see them appointing a female to balance.
I comment Morris for making an issue about bringing his dog to the office. They want his firm and his business, they gotta deal with the damn dog too if they do. Go TeamMorrisDog!
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To be fair, 11:26 was leaving a comment.
Do you really think Cadish will get nom? She is not Sandoval's type of nominee.
Why not? She has incredibly strong credentials and a wonderful disposition and work ethic.
Thank you, Cadish.
I would have thought Tao would apply as he seems to have had the inside track and Sandoval is clearly a fan. I like Cadish but she can be pretty condescending. Plus, she has that poor bastard marshal of hers carry her wee, half pound, briefcase.
Word on the street is that the COA judges all agreed to serve a full term before trying to move up. I expect to see Tao going up the ladder sooner or later.
After Heller nixed her from the federal district court bench based on her second amendment statements there is no way she gets selected, even if she's one of the three finalists. Sandoval would be committing political suicide doing so.
Cadish is worse than condescending. She is smart, but she needs to get over herself. That robe is getting to her.
I like Cadish's court clerk, and her former law clerk. Her JEA could use a personally lift.
Tim is a blight on all polite humanity. That would make for a good thread topic– best JEAs/Court Staff to work with?
You are an elected official. You should conduct yourself with a level decorum. I am an officer of the court, and I am one of the few who is ethical. I really take issue when a judge talks to me like a piece of shit. You know who you are, and it is duly noted.
I miss Judge Mosley's JEA, Judy. Nice lady.
Judge Cadish will not get the appointment. She will never get an appointment. She will have to win elections here on in.
Stiglich or Denton will get the nomination. Denton is the most qualified.
The former Dept 15 and Dept 16 were nice people in the old court house. Use to be able to have conversations with them. Nice people.
Cadish should get it, if only she did not have such a crazy JEA. At least we will likely not need to deal with him if she gets the promotion.
This. That JEA is a psycho.
I've never understood the bring your dog to work thing. It's just bizarre. Pets have no place in a business environment. And you pretty much force the people you work with to interface with your pet. If the reason for bringing your pet to work is that you can't leave it at home because you consider it your child, then I ask, would you bring your child to work every day. No. Get a sitter, doggy day care. Just plain strange. But, if you get away with it because you're the boss, then whatever. You're loss when talented people don't want to accept having a dog mosey into their office in the middle of the afternoon.
Absolutely Steve Morris has had tons of trouble with talented people not accepting a dog moseying into their office when given the chance to work on huge cases with a talented mentor. It has been such a huge issue that it has destroyed their firm.
I agree! It makes sense that a small firm can do what its owners want. My office is super kid friendly, but I know many would dislike that. Snell is a regional firm. If they allow dogs, they would inevitably have to allow cats, gerbils, rats, snakes, etc.
And while we are at it, if he can bring his dog, I should be able to bring my gimp.
Rumor is a female judge from up north: Stiglich for the win.
Bring back the patriarchy. Please.
I know nothing about this Stiglich. Can someone who does fill us in? Objectively?
I practice in 8th and 2nd JD pretty evenly in civil. Have had a few cases with Stiglich. She is very smart, very courteous, very hard working. She reads the briefs. She understands the issues and asks good questions. I have won a few motions in front of her and lost a few motions in front of her. Even when I did not agree with her ruling, her analysis was developed and fair. I find her to be very fair. I would be very comfortable having her review appeals. No concerns with her objectivity in civil litigation. She is a quick learner. When she started on the bench she had an order or two knocked back by the NSC. In the past few years, her work product has only gotten stronger. Hope that helps.
She also has strong criminal defense experience
Check the link for her credentials. Looks okay. Could be a lot worse.
The Nevada Supreme Court always seems to try to avoid deciding cases on constitutional arguments, even when such is plainly before them and reasonably unavoidable, and even though that is THEIR JOB!
It's almost as if avoiding a decision on the constitutionality of a statute, when it can be decided on other grounds, is a canon of judicial construction.
Called the constitutional avoidance doctrine.