- Quickdraw McLaw
- 2020 Judicial Primary
- 15 Comments
- 265 Views
NOTE: This is the last of 11 posts today covering the family court judicial primary.
With primary ballots set to start arriving in mailboxes next week, it’s time to talk about some of the contested judicial primary races featured on that ballot. We welcome your comments on the qualifications of the candidates as well as any information you can offer to help voters make an educated decision. Just remember to keep your comments appropriate and try to avoid defamation.
For District Court Judge, Family Division, Department Z, the candidates are:
- Randall Forman
- Michele “Shell” Mercer
- Romeo Perez
- Kevin Speed
What are your thoughts on the race in this department?
Romeo P. is a cordial person who is genuinely interested in working hard in the judicial position.
Kevin Speed for me.
Tis is the problem for me, I know some of these names from prior elections, but don't know who is best. I'm fairly sure I voted for Romeo last time he ran, but couldn't tell you which one of these would make a better judge.
Forman is bright and level-headed, and has worked for the Family Court for years.
Perez effectively juggles a large volume practice. He might be a little out of his depth in the few cases that are really financially intense and sophisticated, but that is very few of the cases he will encounter. The large majority of cases he will encounter on the bench will be similar to the ones he works on, and he always takes a common sense and proportionate approach to such cases.
Mr. Speed may turn out fine, but I am wary of supporting candidates with little or no Family Court experience.
Ms. Mercer certainly has family Court experience, but I believe the two best choices are Perez or Forman.
I've worked with Shell Mercer before and she has my vote. It was clear from observing her that she worked hard for her clients and actually cared about them – I think she'd be a fantastic addition to the bench.
Romeo is a mess. Shell Mercer is far and away the best choice in this race.
I like Romeo. He is competent and easy to work with. He's got my vote.
Can someone tell me why we aren't discussing the Dept W race? It's contested, right? Or did one of the candidates (Rocheleau & White) drop out?
There has to be more than 2 candidates for it to be voted on in the primary. You’ll see more on them come the fall election.
You are right, I am such a fool. Thank you for your response.
Agreed that Shell Mercer would be an excellent Family Court judge. She's smart, a good person, and genuinely cares about what she does.
Randall Forman has been a law clerk and a staff attorney for family court. He has no known legal experience as an attorney, at least in Clark County. I do not believe he has ever done a trial. This is and of itself is problematic.
Romeo Perez is a super nice man. He does a good job as an attorney.
Kevin Speed is a PD. Why does he want to be in family court? I believe he was in that group of PDs that just decided to file for judge for the fun of it?
Shell Mercer has been around a long time. She worked as a paralegal, then went to law school before there was a UNLV law school. She came back to LV, and has been diligently working since. She is a genuinely good person. She always listens to feedback, good or bad. She adjusts accordingly. She has a high moral set. She works hard. Her clients like her. She will continue to be a hard worker on the bench. She should be trusted with your vote.
There's a group called Emerge that met with female and minority attorneys at the Public Defender and Special Public Defender Offices and encouraged these folks to run for judge. So that accounts for about 11 people from these two offices running for Judge. Kevin Speed might be a fine judge, but he has no Family Court experience. As for Randall Forman, he's been a court employee for a long time. He spent about six months in private practice years ago.
No experience in the practice of law in Nevada? What does he think he's applying to, the Deanship at Boyd Law?
Great, election commercials are starting already.