75%

  • Law

  • With all the votes in (see results here), we can officially congratulate all those who won a seat on the bench this cycle,. Women won big and will hold 75% of the seats on the Eighth Judicial District Court bench next year. [RJ]
  • The Nevada Legislature changed a little from last session with no Democratic supermajority this time. [TNI]
  • Judge Jennifer Togliatti is still awaiting Senate confirmation. [RJ]
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 5:38 pm

Why do the judicial results still say unofficial? When will they be certified?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 6:05 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I believe that today is the last day for canvassing the vote and certifying the results.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 7:39 pm

It's even more lopsided than the 75%, as a number of male incumbents held their seat merely because they were unopposed.

So, the number we should really be focusing on is that when it was male vs. female in RJC General Election, it was 15 to 2 in favor of the females, and in Family Court it was 3 to 0 in favor of females.

Thus it was 18 to 2 in favor of females, not to mention Justice Court.

And well-funded male incumbents with high name recognition and a gazillion endorsements lost to underfunded, relatively unknown female candidates.

In one open seat, where there was no incumbent, Dan Gilliam ran a spirited campaign and spent quite a bit, but lost by 10 points to his opponent even though she reported no expenditures beyond the filing fee.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 9:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Ironically, one of the worst incumbent male judges, Michael Villani, survived his race against a female opponent.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 9:31 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

This would not bother me if all of the races were b/t attorneys of roughly equal qualifications. That was not the case here, I think we have 4-5 Halversons on the bench now.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 10:10 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

We have Halversons on the Nevada Supreme Court, but they keep on getting re-elected.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 10:15 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

@2:10 to whom are you referring?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 10:26 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

To whom is 210 not referring to. Only one decent on the Nevada Supreme Court is Parraguirre.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 10:57 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

For those who truly lived through the Halverson debacle, it should be noted that it is hyperbole to refer to any sitting justices or justices as Halversonian. Some of them leave much to be desired, but they do not approach the lunacy and paranoia Halverson exhibited in her six months of roller coaster nuttiness and drama on the bench.

If you compare someone to Halverson merely because the person is not a good judge, you really did not live through, or follow, the Halverson nightmare.

But now that you have all reminded me of Halverson, allow me to observe that the insanity she wrought was not 100% her fault. It was primarily her fault, but not entirely. Leadership at that time, IMO, was far from supportive, and in fact appeared to undermine her at every turn, and appeared to harbor a significant grudge toward Halverson, and did everything to make her tenure even more difficult than Halverson herself had made it.

At least that's how it seemed to me.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 11:26 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Halverson routinely feel asleep on the bench and made hew Marshal rub her feet. She had lunch with a jury during deliberations (over objection of counsel) and saw no issue. How is that the fault of RJC leadership?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 12:11 am
Reply to  Anonymous

Halverson was a Betsey Gonzalez favorite.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 4:42 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

3:26–I hardly think 2:57 is suggesting that was the fault of leadership, but leadership did have a built-in grudge. It's too lengthy to get into the details.

That said, even if leadership had ben supportive, she was too far gone.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 5:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

None of this explains or supports the claim that the S. Ct. justices are roughly as incompetent as Halverson. I often hear colleagues complain about how bad this justice or that justice is. But they never offer examples of why this so. So my question is, who's bad and why? Moreover, I wonder if these complaints are simply a byproduct of the fact that there are a lot of terrible lawyers in Las Vegas. Anyone who has clerked can certainly attest to that. I patiently await your response.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 7:29 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Hardesty, where do you start? Attorney discipline. That involved the other 3 of the sitting justices that were involved in that scam. All justices the debacle my daughter sat through with bar exam. Elissa Cadish, you do not need to say anything further. The eviction mediation mess the Nevada Supreme Court mishandled….some one else feel free to step in….

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 7:46 pm

Welcome to the new world where things are governed by wokeness and identity politics. I would recommend reading "The Madness of Crowds", by Douglas Murray. He explains how all of this got started and what the ending result could be.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 8:33 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Why is it "identify politics" only when a woman wins? Are you saying all those mormon men out there only vote on the merits?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 10:17 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

If 12:33 wasn't such an obvious bigot, I'd respond substantively.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 11:29 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

If a person votes solely on the basis of gender, they are voting for an identity and not qualifications

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 8:27 pm

I wish someone would have run against Betsey Gonzalez.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 9:20 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

WORD

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 16, 2020 11:44 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

"Where you from, dog? DC? Word. That's a rough city, man." D. Chappelle

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 1:20 am
Reply to  Anonymous

what is bullsource.com? the FL case looks like another iteration of the NV case.
Randazza is a worthy adversary. This is a guess but looks like bullsource.come has an ax to grind.

Unknown
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Unknown
November 17, 2020 12:58 am

I see you one Judge Halverson and raise you one Judge Del Vecchio. That is for you old school people in Family Court

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 3:50 am
Reply to  Unknown

I'll go really old school and see you one Halvorson, one Del Vecchio, and I'll raise you one Judge Gary Redmon who sat in both Family and District Court. He was certifiably moronic.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 4:59 am
Reply to  Unknown

I will see you one, and raise you one, Schutt and Amesbury. And, I will see you a Boyd 13 with a bullshit, empty Rule 11 threat.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 3:42 pm
Reply to  Unknown

Boyd 13s don't make empty threats. Just promises that they keep. Guide yourself accordingly.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 5:02 pm
Reply to  Unknown

7:50–I think you are being a little harsh on Redmon.

He was okay in Family Court. I do agree he was over his head, and clearly out of his depth once elected to Civil/Criminal.

But if "looking the role" accounts for anything, he certainly looked like a judge. Central casting could not have sent anyone who looks more like a judge than Redmon–or at least our Americanized view of what a judge should look like based on how they appear in the movies and television.

But I suppose if the best I can say about him is that he looked like a judge, I guess 7:50 may not have been unduly harsh after all.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 7:31 pm
Reply to  Unknown

7:42, thank you for the laugh. You would not know a Rule 11 if it smacked you in your fat, stupid ass.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 11:50 pm
Reply to  Unknown

The gluteus maximus on each Boyd 13 is svelte and smart.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 18, 2020 1:45 am
Reply to  Unknown

Del Vecchio was INSANE unless of course your client was a reasonably pretty female and was not averse to wearing a short skirt and low cut top. I actually suggested this strategy to a client once and won twice as much as I was asking for (2002 for reference). When it was used against me, I put it on the record to minimize the damage. That worked too.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 18, 2020 4:16 pm
Reply to  Unknown

I just reviewed the Del Vecchio saga. WOW. What a horn dog. And then had the chutzpah to run for Nye County D.A. after all of his scandals.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 18, 2020 5:19 pm
Reply to  Unknown

Del Vecchio is still listed as an active attorney who lists his home as his business address. You should google map his address. Scary to think how far down one can go in his/her legal career. Kind of sad.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 1:00 am

sometimes i see really well thought out comments on this blog. Kudos to those whom the shoe fits. But, more often than not, attorneys quite often seem petty and mean spirited. This whole "Halverson" discussion is proof positive. Obviously, she was a train wreck of a judge. But you don't need to keep kicking on her when she is down and no longer on the bench. And even more so, acting as though most judges are like judge Halverson seems quite wrong. Just very mean spirited. I'm all for reasoned critiques of judges based upon articulable orders, etc. But I think this all is too much.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 25, 2020 7:29 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

@5:00PM, Halverson is more than down. She passed away several years ago.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 5:25 am

Those of you who speak ill of Halverson may not have practiced in front of Mendoza, O'Donnell or Goldman. I was there when Goldman held the county clerk in contempt of court because her deputy clerk had filed a defendant's Answer after a Default had been entered. Goldman sentenced the county clerk to jail time. Goldman also incarcerated the man who made too much noise while repairing the court house roof.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 3:56 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

So looking forward to the upcoming judge drama. I know one civil court new judge has a wicked temper.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 4:45 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

And you're not going to clue the rest of us in so that we can beware the wrath?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 18, 2020 5:11 am
Reply to  Anonymous

Judge Addeliar Guy…Salty

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 19, 2020 4:03 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

8:45-just tested positive for Covid-19 and was NOT wearing a mask….6

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 4:56 pm

9:25.Yes, I recall those bizarre contempt rulings of Goldman–incarcerating an air conditioner worker for making too much noise near the courtroom; ordering a Metro official jailed for not producing himself soon enough based on a sudden demand of the judge for the official to appear in court relative to some case; jailing an 87-year-old woman for refusing to testify against her son, etc.

And yes, Mendoza could be super abusive. I didn't find O'Donnell as bad, but he was worse toward the end.

Don't forget Earle White or Tom Foley. Also, in their later years on the bench Carl Christensen and Jack Lehman could be super grumpy, and even resort to shouting. But Lehman was a bright guy, usually well-prepared, and tended to reserve his harshness for attorneys advancing untenable arguments. He did not suffer fools lightly.

Also,in Justice Court, Bill Jansen's patience was worn paper thin by his many years of service.

I don't think that on our current RJC or Family Bench that we have too many judges who are consistently grumpy or abusive. Things were far worse three decades ago as a handful of these judges, as discussed, were consistently of ill demeanor and often abusive, and there really wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it.

There was no accountability. There wasn't even the RJ Survey. Worse yet, no one ever ran against these judges. Incumbent judges, no matter how abusive or no matter how poorly they did their job, almost always ran unopposed.

Things started changing in 1990 when both Earle White and John Mendoza drew viable opponents and lost, albeit by the thinnest of margins. That signaled to others that these judges were not invincible, and thus for each ensuing election more and more of them are drawing opponents.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
November 17, 2020 7:06 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I actually was in the courtroom for those Goldman incidents, including when the air conditioning guy made noise from the ceiling, and Goldman's jailing of the old lady. And Mendoza requiring female attorneys to wear dresses and show him their bar cards. And O'Donnell's yelling. Those were the days.