Judge Steven Jones lost another attempt to prevent the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline hearing from going forward. You can read about the details in the link. The more interesting part of this one is that Lisa Willardson (whom the RJ article mentions as having accompanied Jones’ counsel, Jim Jimmerson, to the hearing before Judge Kathleen Delaney) decided to post a comment on the article calling out RJ writer Jeff German for inaccurate reporting. Not only that, she also decided to publicly critique Judge Delaney’s decision. [RJ; 8NewsNow]
Judge Doug Smith ruled that the email addresses of Clark County School District teachers are not public record. Anyone want to take a stab at the odds of that decision getting reversed on the inevitable appeal? [RJ]
State bar president Alan Lefebvre is making the creation of an intermediate appellate court one of his priorities. [Las Vegas Sun]
Brian Greenspun, editor of the Las Vegas Sun, sued RJ owner Stephens Media in federal court Tuesday in an attempt to stop the termination of a joint operating agreement between the Sun and the RJ. Greenspun did not name his siblings in the suit, although they were voted to approve the termination. Greenspun’s attorney, Leif Reid, suggests the sue is to stop the RJ’s monopolistic attempt at “eliminat[ing] the Las Vegas Sun’s alternative editorial voice–not just in print, but also on the internet.” [Las Vegas Sun; RJ]
We’re all for keeping the Sun around, especially when it runs such compelling pieces as it did yesterday on appropriate court attire. Make sure to check out the photo gallery! Anyone recognize their clients or colleagues? [Las Vegas Sun]
Is the rule about no suit coats required in summer an actual thing or just someone making excuses for themself?
Guest
Anonymous
August 21, 2013 8:25 pm
Sounds like just an excuse. But say it is a rule, why would somebody not wear a suit coat? It's the professional thing to do. I really can't believe some of the things attorneys wear to court, especially in Justice Court.
And as a female attorney, I especially don't like it when I see other female attorneys wearing flip-flops (no the pantsuit doesn't hide them), or rumpled cardigans, or excessive cleavage, instead of a nice business suit. There's still a lot of sexism in the legal profession. When some asshole credit card collections attorney shows up in court without a suit or tie and with a mustard stain on his non-ironed shirt, nobody says "Look at that at that guy. This is why men shouldn't be lawyers." They just say, "Christ, what an asshole." But when you have a female attorney show up in five-inch heels, every antediluvian fossil gets to huff and puff about "young ladies" who don't know what they're talking about while a handful of lawyer bros start making up jokes about her fuckability so they can high five each other over beers after work. And that just confirms their sexist belief that they don't have to take female attorneys seriously. (And props to the many male attorneys who aren't like that, because you guys are awesome.) So I just feel irrationally irritated when I see female attorneys dressed unprofessionally, because you're making it harder on all of us! (I mean egregiously dressed, because I'm not knocking people for wearing their hair down or failing to put on pantyhose.)
Also, you, Lisa Willardson, are making it harder on all of us. Stop. Just stop. You may be a nice person, but you appear to have monumentally bad judgment. Just step back and pause. Take a deep breath. Think to yourself, "Is this (maybe dating a sitting judge/picking fights with reporters/disparaging judges in public) really a good idea? What are the pros and cons? Will this make me look as if I lack professional judgment?" Possibly look up the definitions of "stop digging" and "quit while you're ahead." Take a nice vacation in Mexico and cool off for a while. Breathe. And then breathe again.
Guest
Anonymous
August 21, 2013 9:06 pm
@1:25
YES. THANK YOU.
Guest
Jordan Ross, Principal, Ross Legal Search
August 21, 2013 9:51 pm
I've spoken about this before to students at Boyd. August 21, 2013 at 1:25 PM is absolutely right, sexism is still alive and kicking, even more so when the economy is in a serious recession. But that constitutes two reasons, not one, for female attorneys to dress professionally.
It's not just a case of those who resent women before the bar in general, but I can tell you that there are definitely men who resent that that if they showed up to work or court in a sweater or a short sleeve shirt or in some cases even a sport coat instead of a suit, they would run into a double standard.
A third reason is that by not dressing professionally, women do a disservice to each other by reducing how seriously they are taken by others. John Malloy figured this out years ago with his Dress For Success books. I know that there are many who think his concepts are passe, but may I suggest that in fact it is not. I have spoken with one very liberal female judge here in town who I'm pleased to say understands the importance of professional dress in court.
I advise women to wear dark suits, (not sport coats) and to keep blouses to conservative solid color pastels or white, preferably button down pinpoint oxford cloth. Brooks Brothers will not steer you wrong and the suit will last for years. Fashionable? No, but professional? Yes.
Guest
Anonymous
August 21, 2013 10:19 pm
The "no suit coats in summer" actually was a rule back in the day. That is the day when Louis Weiner wore a jumpsuit to court. Very few people on the bench or in the courtroom were around then.
Lawyers who do appointed criminal work should be particularly careful about the way they dress as appointed clients are naturally concerned about whether their lawyers look like "real lawyers."
Guest
Anonymous
August 21, 2013 10:26 pm
The EDCR does not make an exception to the coat rule:
Rule 7.72.  Courtroom conduct and attire.  Proceedings in court should be conducted with dignity and decorum. All persons appearing in open court must be properly attired as befits the dignity of the court. All male attorneys must wear full length trousers, coat and tie; female attorneys must wear suitable dresses or pantsuits.
Guest
Anonymous
August 21, 2013 11:27 pm
1:25 YES, YOU ARE SPOT ON!
Guest
Anonymous
August 22, 2013 12:08 am
"…or excessive cleavage"
I was with you, 1:25 until right there. By definition, cleavage, can never be "excessive."
You obviously may find this hard to believe, but most male attorneys are not horse trading your "fuckability."
Most female attorneys I deal with are just attorneys, some good, some bad. But there are a handful of female attorneys who will quite forcefully assume and allege sexism against any male colleague or opposing counsel with whom there is disagreement. These special souls see sexism in every shadow of litigation- implied in the tone of a male's voice, the language of an email, the aggressiveness of discovery or motion work. It's grating and makes an already unpleasant job all the worse.
Guest
Anonymous
August 22, 2013 2:46 am
5:08 makes a very valid point. In both civil (an oxymoron if ever there was one) and in criminal practice, especially among yougish prosecutors, this is a real problem. Agressively advocate for a client and, god forbid, challenge them on a point of law and suddenly it is a sexist thing rather than zealous advocacy. Afterall, they are always right and the client is always wrong or guilty so why should we challenge them at all.
Guest
Anonymous
August 22, 2013 3:06 am
Lisa Willardson, 1:25 is giving you some good advice. Your comments on news articles are not helping the perception of you or Judge Jones. Also, please stop mentioning the "crotch shots." It's not like anyone put a camera in his toilet bowl, and believe me when I say no one else is much interested in Jones' crotch.
Guest
Anonymous
August 23, 2013 1:17 am
I've always felt that one of the reasons that Judges don't enforce the Coat/tie/jeans rule is that they, in many cases dress shabbily "underneath".
I remember several years ago, getting called back into chambers with opposing counsel for a short conference with Nick DelVecchio. He was (I shit you not) wearing Teva sandals and those old cotton, gym teacher sweats from the 1970's. I was flabbergasted and never respected him for that a dozen other reasons.
Is the rule about no suit coats required in summer an actual thing or just someone making excuses for themself?
Sounds like just an excuse. But say it is a rule, why would somebody not wear a suit coat? It's the professional thing to do. I really can't believe some of the things attorneys wear to court, especially in Justice Court.
And as a female attorney, I especially don't like it when I see other female attorneys wearing flip-flops (no the pantsuit doesn't hide them), or rumpled cardigans, or excessive cleavage, instead of a nice business suit. There's still a lot of sexism in the legal profession. When some asshole credit card collections attorney shows up in court without a suit or tie and with a mustard stain on his non-ironed shirt, nobody says "Look at that at that guy. This is why men shouldn't be lawyers." They just say, "Christ, what an asshole." But when you have a female attorney show up in five-inch heels, every antediluvian fossil gets to huff and puff about "young ladies" who don't know what they're talking about while a handful of lawyer bros start making up jokes about her fuckability so they can high five each other over beers after work. And that just confirms their sexist belief that they don't have to take female attorneys seriously. (And props to the many male attorneys who aren't like that, because you guys are awesome.) So I just feel irrationally irritated when I see female attorneys dressed unprofessionally, because you're making it harder on all of us! (I mean egregiously dressed, because I'm not knocking people for wearing their hair down or failing to put on pantyhose.)
Also, you, Lisa Willardson, are making it harder on all of us. Stop. Just stop. You may be a nice person, but you appear to have monumentally bad judgment. Just step back and pause. Take a deep breath. Think to yourself, "Is this (maybe dating a sitting judge/picking fights with reporters/disparaging judges in public) really a good idea? What are the pros and cons? Will this make me look as if I lack professional judgment?" Possibly look up the definitions of "stop digging" and "quit while you're ahead." Take a nice vacation in Mexico and cool off for a while. Breathe. And then breathe again.
@1:25
YES. THANK YOU.
I've spoken about this before to students at Boyd. August 21, 2013 at 1:25 PM is absolutely right, sexism is still alive and kicking, even more so when the economy is in a serious recession. But that constitutes two reasons, not one, for female attorneys to dress professionally.
It's not just a case of those who resent women before the bar in general, but I can tell you that there are definitely men who resent that that if they showed up to work or court in a sweater or a short sleeve shirt or in some cases even a sport coat instead of a suit, they would run into a double standard.
A third reason is that by not dressing professionally, women do a disservice to each other by reducing how seriously they are taken by others. John Malloy figured this out years ago with his Dress For Success books. I know that there are many who think his concepts are passe, but may I suggest that in fact it is not. I have spoken with one very liberal female judge here in town who I'm pleased to say understands the importance of professional dress in court.
I advise women to wear dark suits, (not sport coats) and to keep blouses to conservative solid color pastels or white, preferably button down pinpoint oxford cloth. Brooks Brothers will not steer you wrong and the suit will last for years. Fashionable? No, but professional? Yes.
The "no suit coats in summer" actually was a rule back in the day. That is the day when Louis Weiner wore a jumpsuit to court. Very few people on the bench or in the courtroom were around then.
Lawyers who do appointed criminal work should be particularly careful about the way they dress as appointed clients are naturally concerned about whether their lawyers look like "real lawyers."
The EDCR does not make an exception to the coat rule:
Rule 7.72.  Courtroom conduct and attire.  Proceedings in court should be conducted with dignity and decorum. All persons appearing in open court must be properly attired as befits the dignity of the court. All male attorneys must wear full length trousers, coat and tie; female attorneys must wear suitable dresses or pantsuits.
1:25 YES, YOU ARE SPOT ON!
"…or excessive cleavage"
I was with you, 1:25 until right there. By definition, cleavage, can never be "excessive."
You obviously may find this hard to believe, but most male attorneys are not horse trading your "fuckability."
Most female attorneys I deal with are just attorneys, some good, some bad. But there are a handful of female attorneys who will quite forcefully assume and allege sexism against any male colleague or opposing counsel with whom there is disagreement. These special souls see sexism in every shadow of litigation- implied in the tone of a male's voice, the language of an email, the aggressiveness of discovery or motion work. It's grating and makes an already unpleasant job all the worse.
5:08 makes a very valid point. In both civil (an oxymoron if ever there was one) and in criminal practice, especially among yougish prosecutors, this is a real problem. Agressively advocate for a client and, god forbid, challenge them on a point of law and suddenly it is a sexist thing rather than zealous advocacy. Afterall, they are always right and the client is always wrong or guilty so why should we challenge them at all.
Lisa Willardson, 1:25 is giving you some good advice. Your comments on news articles are not helping the perception of you or Judge Jones. Also, please stop mentioning the "crotch shots." It's not like anyone put a camera in his toilet bowl, and believe me when I say no one else is much interested in Jones' crotch.
I've always felt that one of the reasons that Judges don't enforce the Coat/tie/jeans rule is that they, in many cases dress shabbily "underneath".
I remember several years ago, getting called back into chambers with opposing counsel for a short conference with Nick DelVecchio. He was (I shit you not) wearing Teva sandals and those old cotton, gym teacher sweats from the 1970's. I was flabbergasted and never respected him for that a dozen other reasons.