Forever And Ever

  • Law

  • Goodsprings Justice of the Peace Dawn Haviland was suspended for one year without pay. [nvcourts]
  • Shortly after Judge Joe Hardy appointed a receiver to manage the Legacy Golf Course, the new owners announced they will keep it a golf course “forever and ever.” [RJ]
  • The Fontainebleau, once a boon for construction defect lawyers, has been sold for $600 million with plans to finish the property. It is expected it will cost $1 billion to finish it. [RJ; Las Vegas Sun]
  • A reader tells us that the law firm of Brooks Hubley is shutting its doors on 8/31 and that the decision to do so was not made amicably. 
  • A reader informed us that starting November 1, Las Vegas Justice Court attorney sessions for traffic tickets will have a business casual attire dress code–i.e. no more jeans. Thoughts? Comments?
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Lawyer Bird
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Lawyer Bird
August 30, 2017 3:45 pm

I think there are enough attorneys in Nevada now to require rural JoPs to be licensed attorneys (or at least have a law degree). It won't prevent all abuses of course but would at least ensure some base level of understanding law and civil rights.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:13 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

I read the order at issue in Haviland. The findings support a conclusion that she is out of control and needs to be banned from the bench, not just suspended for a year. She's basically Halverson II or maybe worse. I hope the Supreme Court intervenes and finds the discipline imposed to be insufficient.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:56 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

That disciplinary decision was ridiculous. No contrition. Out of control. I agree, Nevada Supreme Court needs to step up and take her off the bench.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:15 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

She sucked from day 1 and had a huge ego. Make you wait for hours.I believe she was Judge Smith's secretary prior. Hardly adequate judicial and legal training. Good riddance.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:35 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

I don't think that the main point of all is that there was merely some Halversoneque bad apple that needed to be removed from the bench.

I think the more important lesson is, despite the very serious faults of this judge, is that it should be mandated that all Nevada judges, despite the size of the county or municipality, should be licensed attorneys.

Even though this judge has been on the bench for some time, she was not bound to learn the Law while on the bench if, in addition to being completely untrained in the Law, she kept reinforcing bad habits which largely revolved around completely ignoring the most basic mandates of the Law as it relates to her position.

But despite her bad habits and apparent dictatorial approach, had she been a licensed attorney, certain things would have been clear to her on the very day she took the bench–such as you cannot sentence someone to eight months of jail if no charges have even been filed(which is one of the infractions she committed).

So, 8:45 is right on the money when, rather than getting distracted by the serious problems with this particular judge,
the blogger instead focuses on the basic problem of non-attorneys on the bench.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:38 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Halversonesque is now a valid word in our local lexicon to describe out-of-control public officials? Cool! I'm going to start using it.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:55 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

10:35– I agree and disagree. Haviland's issues do not indicate to me that she is merely a legal neophyte. Case in point- she is the NCIC officer for her Court and flagrantly violated the use of the NCIC system. She was expressly told by the Attorney General to stop her auto theft scam and continued to do it. Being educated in the law would not have solved this problem because when she was in educated in the law, she flagrantly violated what she was told. So while it might "have been clear to her on the very day she took the bench–such as you cannot sentence someone to eight months of jail if no charges have even been file", in her case does not mean that she would not have done it anyway. Does a judicial officer really need to go to law school to know that you cannot throw someone in jail for 20 days and sentence them to 8 months without any criminal charges pending? Yeah, she is a bad apple.

So who on the Bench currently is Halversonesque? There has been some discussion of Scotti.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:17 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

I understand that he can be mercurial and holler once in a while(as does Potter and others), but he in no way exhibits any of the far more troubling aspects of Halverson's behavior.

He does not have lunch with jurors , does not have his spouse sworn in to determine if she's completed the family chores, does not mandate foot rubs from staff, does not hire his private security detail and barricade himself in chambers while phoning the police with the insistence that he is under attack from the Chief Judge and his/her minions.

Those are just some of the things Halverson stood accused of. Her hollering on the bench was the least of her problems, and I don't even think that was part of the disciplinary proceedings.
So, let's remember that Halverson was truly one-of-a-kind before we ask if anyone on the bench is Halversonesque.

Plus, Halverson either didn't really know the Law and/or routinely ignored it. Scotti is very proficient on the Law.

So, although there may be a few judges who have demeanor issues once in a while, there is currently no one on the bench, IMO, who is even remotely as bad as Halverson.

But, with judicial elections, that can change.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:46 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Regardless of how proficient a judge is at the law, if they can't control their temper on the bench it really calls into question their competence for the job. The judicial canons talk at length about things like perception, confidence, appearance, and reputation. None of those attributes have to do with legal proficiency – they have to do with the judge's behavior.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:52 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Top qualities of a good judge: good judgment (lack of bias, thoughtfulness), patience, demeanor. Proficiency in the law is after that for me.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:57 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

I will say that Scotti was a really good construction litigator. He knew the law in that area. He has NOT turned out to be a great judge on applying the law. Some of his rulings have been outright bizarre.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:58 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

11:17 here again.

I agree with you. However, it's just a stretch to compare anyone to Halverson.

When you mention demeanor,it reminds me that practitioners will always remember when a judge lost their temper and abused and demeaned the attorney in court. This is compounded greatly when it is done in the presence of the attorney's clients.

A lawyer may practice 30 or 40 years and have no real memory of 98% or more of their many court appearances over the years. But
they will always remember an unwarranted dressing down by a judge, no matter how long ago. One attorney recently told me of what a certain judge did to him in court back in '84, while another veteran attorney told me what happened to him back in "79. They remember the exact year, and the precise language of the abusive tirade of the judge. I don't consider either of these attorneys to be especially thin-skinned. But when a judge unjustifiably loses it and attacks an attorney's competence, performance, character and reputation, that bitterness, and those scars, remain forever.

And, even more importantly, as you suggest, it brings added disrepute to the judiciary and lowers it even further in the eyes of the public.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:06 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

11:17 and 11:58 here again. Just to clarify, my post at 11:58 was intended as direct response to 11:46, but while I was preparing it, a couple additional comments(goods ones, by the way) entered the thread between 11:46 and 11:58.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:06 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

And if a Judge is crazy enough that he holds the Clerk of the Court and an air conditioning contractor in contempt, he might have his brakes give out on the way to Pahrump.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:26 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Goldman

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:34 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Wow 12:06! That's a golden oldie-Judge Paul Goldman. Removed back in '86 I believe.

The maintenance workers on the roof were making too much noise(repairing the air-conditioner, as you point out) so he had the maintenance supervisor jailed. He demanded that a high ranking Metro official be at his beck and call and be immediately produced for a hearing to offer information about some case, and when he could not be located and/or did not respond soon enough, he issued an arrest warrant or otherwise ordered him jailed.

And he ordered an 89-year-old woman jailed for declining to testify against her son.

This last infraction, IMO, is the worst and most offensive of the there, but it is probably the one which posed the least problems for the judge. Based on how power flows, and the fact that it is unwise to mess with those in positions of authority who have powerful connections, the one involving the high-ranking Metro official is the infraction which caused him the most problems, followed by jailing someone who works on court premises and is in charge of vital operations/engineering functions. Unfortunately, the plight of the very elderly woman, although by far the most damaging jailing as to the physical/psychological effects, may have had the least import because she was just an ordinary person without connections.

That's the way it was back in the 80's IMO. Fortunately, I firmly believe that matters have evolved to the point, and the good ol' boy network had weakened to the point, where if these same facts occurred today, the Discipline Commission would(rightly) be most offended by the jailing of the elderly women.

But within a few seconds a blogger will tell me how naïve I am.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 3:49 pm

Goodsprings is easy driving distance from Las Vegas. Haviland was represented by Al Marquis who supposedly is her neighbor out there. I have traveled to the rurals quite a bit. To stand in front of the bench, you have to be a licensed attorney (pro se excepted). There is no excuse that the person sitting on the bench is not an attorney anywhere in this state.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 3:52 pm

Fontainebleau was never a boon for construction defect lawyers. It was a boon for mechanics lien lawyers but then turned into a bust for mechanics lien lawyers because many of them had contractor clients who went bust and never paid their bills. However the construction law bar and the construction defect donut munchers are two separate groups of lawyers.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:15 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Is CD donut munching still a thing? Years ago I used to conduct private arbitrations and mediations at the court-reporting suites and would see the lazy donut munchers hanging around eating and sitting in leaky condo depositions. I can't imagine that still goes on. Does it?

Seems to me that was a good way for C- level lawyers to make a living. But what a waste of resources. The leaky condo cases of the late 90's and early 00's were such a boondoggle.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:57 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Yes it still goes on.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:14 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

whos been representing

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:53 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

speaking of CD, does anyone know why a bunch of cases transferred from Williams to Scotti?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:07 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

could have something to do with Scotti no longer doing criminal cases

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:05 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I believe a similar thing happened with Bailus. He shed his civil calendar, and is in criminal. Which, frankly, is where he belongs.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 3:55 pm

If Eddie Haddad says that he will do something forever and ever, that means that he will not do something forever and ever.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:05 pm

I wonder why Brooks Hubley went down?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 4:58 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

What is the scoop on Brooks Hubley? What is the "less than amicable"?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:13 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Didn't Brooks just dissolve another partnership not too long ago? That was fast.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 5:24 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Brooks bounces. He is in a big firm, then he forms his own firm, then he was in with Jolley Urga I believe, then he formed this firm with Hubley. What is the scoop?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:11 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Never heard of them. Are they affiliated with Half Price?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 6:16 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I like Mike Brooks. Don't really know Hubley that well. But I've heard that Mike can have a temper and doesn't always get along with his co-workers. I've seen him get pretty heated during argument while talking to the judge, so it doesn't seem out of the question.

Good luck to them.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 9:25 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I like Mike. He is a good litigator. I believe he is going to Kolesar & Latham (sp?). Not sure what Hubley is doing.

Lawyer Bird
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Lawyer Bird
August 30, 2017 4:53 pm
Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 9:20 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Racist.

anonymous
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anonymous
August 30, 2017 9:25 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

So will the owners now be compelled to operate a golf course that is not economically viable? I guess hell hath no fury like middle-aged/elderly white people losing their golf course.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
August 30, 2017 10:04 pm
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Read the article closely. The owners say that they will meet with neighbors and try to reach a resolution.
"“If the community wants a golf course, we want to work with them to figure out how to re-establish the course while being environmentally responsible,' Maalouf said. 'We want to meet with the homeowners to discuss how we can ensure that the open space is to their benefit beyond the 21 years.'"

That means Homeowners, we will sell you the golf course for $1MM more than we paid for it, which will only come out to like $5,000 a lot and then you can have the golf course you demand OR we will come to an agreement to sell all of you homeowners "Memberships" (when country clubs are giving them away) because that is the only way that this dinosaur of a course will make a go of it. Otherwise we will get the lawsuit dismissed and then the Trust that owns the course will miraculously run out of money before the City of Henderson steps in on an emergency basis. This is not over by any long shot.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 31, 2017 2:14 am
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Golf is certainly the sport of privilege.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 31, 2017 2:15 am
Reply to  Lawyer Bird

Oh, and tennis. Lawyers seem to love pretending to be elite.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 7:17 pm

So I can't handle a traffic ticket in my pajamas? WTF

Anonymous
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Anonymous
August 30, 2017 10:10 pm

Speaking of Kolesar above, whatever happened with Shlomo? Still not on the website but SBN has him still there

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
August 31, 2017 8:16 pm

Hell with lawyer hotties….how about State Senator Hotties???
From the Nevada Independent: "Former Republican state Sen. Elizabeth Halseth, who resigned from her seat after just a year in office amid a difficult divorce and months later posed for Maxim magazine, confirmed today to The Nevada Independent that she plans to run for state Senate in 2018."