Eighth Judicial Death Panel

  • Law

  • An administrative order  (17-05) was used to create the Eighth Judicial District Court homicide team. The judges on the team are Herndon, Adair, Togliatti, and E. Johnson. 
  • The Assembly is working on a bill to fire municipal justices and justice of the peace who don’t complete their training. [RJ]
  • Kirk D. Helmick, who may have a connection to 702-Traffic (the pink house), was arrested allegedly hitting an elderly LVMPD volunteer ticket writer with his car. [LasVegasNow]
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 3:24 pm

The headlines say he hit the guy and I jumped to the same conclusion that I suspect most people did; that the elderly man became an almost daily statistic. Not that the guy had an excuse for doing it, but listening to him it sounds like he backed up with his wheel cut one direction and directed his vehicle fender towards the guy and tapped his kneecap.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 3:53 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Did you just try to explain away hitting the elderly volunteer ticket writer?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 7:53 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

@8:24 here – No, but as usual, sensational media made it sound worse than it actually was. The guy said he has a bruised kneecap. Not a broken leg, not a broken rib, not broken foot, not broken arm – a bruised kneecap. Yes he got hit, yes it's a battery, but I guess "Ticket Attorney bruised an elderly volunteers kneecap by tapping him with his vehicle fender" doesn't sell papers.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 8:11 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Where in the headline, article or the video does the "media" sensationalize the incident by overhyping the injury? Nowhere.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 8:13 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Yes I agree. This story does not warrant front page news. However, the fact that Channel 8 is identifying him as a traffic attorney does. He is not a lawyer. He is in fact the owner of 702Traffic and the pink building. A review of the CC Assessor's website and the State Bar website would have confirmed this. Terrible reporting. If they had done their HW, the could have uncover the corruption of 702Traffic and the fact that the Bar has done nothing to shut it down.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 8:34 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

If they mis-identified him, does this give rise to a colorable defamation claim by the attorney Kirk Helmick?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 8:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

1:34 PM–Maybe claim of defamation but the news outlet can simply make a correction. The printed news story called him a "ticket fixer" but the TV story said he was an attorney. Something wrong here.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 4:14 pm

What a piece of shit. I was sending all my clients there, but not now.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 4:40 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I always check Yelp before sending my clients somewhere. Look at 702 Traffic on there (https://www.yelp.com/biz/702-traffic-las-vegas-3). If I was your client and I happened to see that after you sent me there I would be very suspicious. Contrast that with something like Ticket Busters (where I send my people) – https://www.yelp.com/biz/ticket-busters-las-vegas-2

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 4:35 pm

Helmick was charged with bringing a pistol into the courthouse concealed for which he had no permit. He pled to a misdo.
https://lvjcpa.clarkcountynv.gov/Anonymous/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=10967161

Having said that, these senior police volunteers are very aggressive and think they are cops. I had one client who owned the property and he got a ticket for parking in the handicap space that he provided at his business. Another client had to call the police because the senior volunteer incorrectly wrote a ticket and my client had the sticker on the dash. He took a picture of it and the senior volunteer cop got belligerent. There seems to be no presumption of innocence on this blog. Shocking–this a blog for lawyers.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 4:45 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Helmick is a creep. With that said, these Volunteer Ticket Writers are equally scum. I will wait and let it play out.

anonymous
Guest
anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:59 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

They are crochity old wannabe cops. I got into a dispute with one of them several years ago when he threatened to have my car towed because the registration sticker was in the wrong place, or I hadn't put the new one on yet, or some similar BS. However, I didn't try to know him down.

anonymous
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anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:00 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

knock

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:02 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Your client was in the wrong. Handicapped spaces (even those at businesses) are protected by law. Doesn't matter if your are a county commissioner or the owner of the property.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:20 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Wrong Helmick with the gun

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:21 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

It was his brother

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:28 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

11:02AM–I am just saying there is no common sense with these parking tickets. I have had several clients who had the sticker and got the ticket. The parking tickets in Las Vegas are a form of a binding arbitration. They don't make deals or listen. You either pay or fight it. If you make a stink in the City about their process they send you to a traffic judge.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:05 pm

I think that is the wrong Kirk Helmick. The news story says Kirk D. Helmick, 57 years old (who is not listed on the bar's website as an attorney). The one with the concealed weapon charge is Kirk R. Helmick (who is listed on the website, but is much younger than the person arrested).

Looks like the person in the latest article is not a licensed attorney in NV.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:12 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I was wondering the same thing. If Channel 8 screwed this up, oh boy.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:38 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Kirk D. Helmick who owns (or at least for years owned) 702Traffic is not a Nevada licensed attorney which is why if you look at the billboards and ads it always had some other attorney's name at the bottom. He is 57 years old. Helmick licensed the name. Lately the Pink Building has been operating under "Law Office of Ryan Helmick" which is really Kirk Ryan Helmick is the 31 yo with the gun incident. As you might imagine, related.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:42 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

OBC, where art thou? BOGs where art though? Put down the Rum cake, miss the God awful annual convention that nobody goes to, and do something about these two winnas.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:53 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

The alleged victim said that Helmick identified himself as an attorney. It was not too longer ago that they allowed non attorney representatives (and still do under "friends and family") to get dispositions on tickets.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:31 pm

How come this asshole gets away with owning a law firm when he is not a lawyer, but if missing a buffalo nickel from IOLTA, the OBC will persecute, I mean prosecute me???

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:41 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Because he doesn't "own a law firm" he just owns a name which he licenses to a law firm. This was the same reason that Glen Lerner was actually paying to use the licensed name "Heavy Hitter" and does not use it any longer. http://www.vegastrademarkattorney.com/2008/08/las-vegas-heavy-hitter-glen-lerner.html

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 5:58 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Worse.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 8:04 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

The Pink building has been operating as a law firm for years, but the owner is not a licensed attorney. Kirk Ryan Helmick works for Richard Harris & Associates (I assume his son). The State Bar has done nothing to shut down the pink building. What Helmick does is contract with an attorney who then put's his name in tiny print on all advertisements. Then Helmick pays the attorney. Yes, the non-lawyer pays the lawyer for use of his license. Gordon Shockley is the current attorney associated with the pink building.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 6:33 pm

It's interesting that all of the homicide judges are former prosecutors, but it could be worse.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 9:40 pm

Will somebody write a graphic novel based on 4 judges that get together to form a "Homicide Team"? They go around at night in their robes, with oversized gavels that they use to bash in the heads of murderers and rapists who get off due to legal technicalities. It'll be somewhat of a spiritual sequel to Dexter.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 19, 2017 10:35 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

More like somewhat of a derivative work of the "Axe Cop" comics, but I can dig it.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 19, 2017 9:46 pm

Yea, I saw that Michael Douglas movie. It was called Star Chamber. It was just ok.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 20, 2017 3:23 am
Reply to  Anonymous

They could have done a lot better with the movie. Good premise, it just did not deliver.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 20, 2017 3:08 am

They updated the article and clarified it was the 57 year old Helmick business owner, not the younger actual attorney son. I know the son, he is a nice guy and I would be surprised if he even hurt a fly. Never met the dad though.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 20, 2017 3:07 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Dad is a creepy wannabe lawyer (as shown by him owning a law firm and claiming that he is a lawyer outside a bar).

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 20, 2017 4:31 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

1 down another 50 or so to go.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 20, 2017 4:32 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Gee, there are currently 20 ABA provisional and/or fully accredited law schools in California. Will Wittier be missed?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
April 20, 2017 4:58 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

There are also 19 law schools approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners in CA. In addition, there are several unaccredited schools there too. Based on population of CA, there is a school for every one 700,000 people. We have 1 school for Nevada (2,800,000 population). Some of us feel that UNLV is one too many. Putting that aside, about half of the law schools in California could be closed now and their legal needs could be met going forward.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 20, 2017 5:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Nevada had too many lawyers even before UNLV opened its doors. UNLV Boyd was an improvement over Western States which was trying to open in Nevada.
If UNLV is pumping out 150 new lawyers or more every year you can do the math and see how overpopulated the profession has become. This is on top of all the folks moving to Nevada like from California and elsewhere.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
April 20, 2017 6:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

That's true, although I'd much prefer having Boyd in the state, which is actually a decent school (yes, I know many people on this blog would disagree) compared to many of the crap schools pumping out wannabe attorneys in California. There's no reason a state with a population of almost 3 million shouldn't have its own law school. Utah has two. Even Idaho, New Mexico and Wyoming have law schools. It's time for Nevada to gain its own identity, other than being the state with the casinos and legalized prostitution.