Gag Order, Esquire

  • Law

  • Judge William Potter and Judge Kerry Earley are both facing separate charges of violations of the judicial canons. [RJ]
  • And the Commission is taking another shot at Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson. [RJ]
  • You can view the formal statements of charges for all three here.
  • Question 2 on the ballot this fall deals with changing the Nevada Constitution with regard to same-sex marriage. [Nevada Current]
  • A plot in Boulder City to terminate the City Attorney and City Manager may have started over a year ago according to filings in the most recent drama in Boulder City. [BCR]
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:02 pm

Commission overreach is becoming old hat. They attempted a public flogging of Chelini and Tobiasson a few months back, a pathetic display of abuse of the commission's authority, and now the commission is dipping their pen in the same well. All in the wake of a recent Supreme Court case spanking this same commission for overdoing it. Is there no court administration or county HR presence that can work these issues out internally? Who's steering the ship over there? I'd much rather see these judges focus on their caseloads rather than worrying about defending themselves in a mud-slinging battle of low level workplace drama.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:50 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

That JEA probably deserved it. Too many of them have that "I'm entitled to my paycheck" without working the full day through attitude. Lots of breaks, lots of socializing, lots of mistakes. Too bad judges have to inherit these assistants who barely assist them.

anonymous
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anonymous
September 3, 2020 6:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

If her JEA is the same one I've dealt with on the phone a few times, she's been very helpful and not hard to deal with at all.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 6:54 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I agree, if is the Early JEA from 2014, she is very nice.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 6:55 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Earley, since one who does not have a life is checking grammar.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 8:31 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

When court staff develops phantom black robe syndrome, it is a problem for sure. This is where court admin needs to have enough of an understanding of what is going on within the judicial departments to intervene where appropriate. Absent that, the judicial commission becomes the de facto HR entity. Not a good use of that resource, and the taxpayers and supreme court should not allow it.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 8:44 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Amen, 12:44.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 8:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

This a ridiculous misuse and overreach by the NJDC. Judge Earley had heated words with Betsy Gonzalez and Linda Bell. Oh well. Judge Earley reprimanded staff. Oh well. Are we going to have a decibel meter that is OK to talk with JEA and another one for the "male law clerk" versus the "female law clerk" (terms taken from the Complaint)? I have no idea how much is being paid to "BH Consulting" but it is too much for too little return to micromanage Chambers.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 9:55 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

We are lawyers, not babies. 1:49 is 100% correct–"OH WELL!" Most of you are probably too young to remember J. Mendoza. He was smart, knew the law, and expected lawyers to be prepared. But he treated almost everyone like crap. Did anyone have the balls to go after him?
Or S.Ct. Justice Gunderson.Smart judge, but he was the second coming of Machiavelli. And I guarantee no one dared cross his path.
So what's different?
Kerry is a woman.
She is held to a double standard. She is being unfairly prosecuted because of her gender.
Brian Hutchins was around when Gunderson terrorized the courts and the bar.
Although not in Las Vegas, he knew about Mendoza.
And there have been plenty of other judges just as bad.
Joe Bonaventure routinely cursed out staff, lawyers and other judges.
Why no complaint?
1. They were men.
2. Now our society is so thinned skinned that an insult is a criminal offense.
In Nevada, we have always retained the ultimate sanction for inappropriate judicial conduct–the ballot box.
Complaints like this against Kerry are a reflection of our society.
Save the commission for real offenses, like when judges take contributions/bribes and then rule for their benefactors.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 11:54 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

To the point about court staff, I have had a couple of term clerks be just as rude as the worst JEAs. One applied to my firm and when the resume came around I had a story to share. If you are a term clerk a year or two out of law school, it is especially important to remember that the reputation you earn in your department will follow you into practice.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:22 pm

The Andress-Tobiasson complaint should be the basis for a Lifetime tv series or movie. It would be awesome. Or maybe a Netflix movie so we can have the saucy language that she is accused of using while on the job. I am thinking Renee Zellweger could play the judge. Also, is that a tattoo of a spider on her middle finger in the RJ picture?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 5:50 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I think that one is heart wrenching. I don't have a daughter, but if I did, and if I thought a pimp was trying to turn my daughter into a prostitute, Tobiasson's actions would look mild in comparison to the ones that I think I'd probably take. Based on my interactions with the DA and Metro, I totally believe that they blew her off. Both have always blown me off. "Sounds like a civil matter" is their way of saying that the day ends at 5 pm.

anonymous
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anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:31 pm

I read the Earley and Potter complaints. Any any other law firm or corporate environment people who behaved this way would perhaps receive a warning after the first one or two incidents, and then be given a cardboard box and asked to clean out their desk if it happened again. Judges should not be immune from the rules and norms that govern everyone else's behavior in the workplace.

anonymous
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anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:32 pm
Reply to  anonymous

*In* any

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:43 pm
Reply to  anonymous

Right, how else do you protect the court employees? The list of abuses is long and bad.

In Earley's case, she also is that mercurial in the courtroom, although she does check herself as to vulgarity. When she's calm, she's great. But at the slightest irritation, you gotta duck for cover!

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 6:14 pm
Reply to  anonymous

It really depends on the source of the irritation. Seen many attorneys try to bully their way through a hearing or trial, often unfairly attacking opposing counsel along the way. I don't think we need to clip the judges' wings to the point of inept leadership on the bench. If she threw something at you, fine, but being critical about the basis of an argument or the judge calling BS on bad behavior should fall within the boundaries of running a working courtroom. Let's face it, zealous advocacy does not always spawn the most courteous behavior. Everyone needs a little room to operate while maintaining appropriate decorum, a tough balance for all involved.

anonymous
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anonymous
September 3, 2020 6:33 pm
Reply to  anonymous

I agree 11:14, but that is not the basis of either of these complaints.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 7:18 pm
Reply to  anonymous

11:14,

Of course. And sometimes cops need to show force. And sometimes parents need to correct their children, yada, yada, yada.

But I imagine you recognize that judicial temperament is important, that some judges are better than others, and that occasionally judges are ill-tempered to point of impropriety.

Whether you agree that Earley fits into that category is something else. But I do wonder how much time you've spent in her gallery over the years.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 8:24 pm
Reply to  anonymous

11:33, you are correct. The piling on draws this discussion outside of the topic, and it shouldn't. 12:18 is looking to pile on.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 9:52 pm
Reply to  anonymous

I think the complaints are just the tip of the iceberg. They aren't going to charge what they can't prove, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot more that happened leading up to this point.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:10 pm
Reply to  anonymous

Don't count on it, 2:52, the activities of the commission don't rise to the deep-state conspiracy level that you're looking for here. Revisiting the Russia election interference hoax may prove more satisfying.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:16 pm
Reply to  anonymous

Chill, 1:24.

When people are jumping to the conclusion that the allegations are exaggerated, that the JEA probably deserved it, that this is all overreach, that Gonzalez and Bell are grinding axes, that the commission must be sexist, etc. (see above), then it's not un-blog-worthy for commenters to confirm that the allegations are consistent with behavior they've seen in the courtroom for many years.

Spare us the "piling on" crap. It's on topic and brings balance and perspective.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 11:05 pm
Reply to  anonymous

2:52 here – no deep state conspiracy here. I KNOW they don't charge everything or even bring up everything in the hearings. I was being obtuse because it's an anonymous blog and I don't want to out myself. I'd bet money there's a lot more to the story than what is in the complaints.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:39 pm

I'm generally hesitant to vote for any constitutional amendment, but Question 2 makes sense. The NV constitution shouldn't have provisions that are unconstitutional.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:43 pm

If the US Supreme Court says that marriage does not have to be between a man & woman, do we really need to vote to modify NV's constitution to remove that language? I'm not advocating leaving it in there, it should just flat out be removed. It's like a visual vestigal tail that should just be excised.
I'm guessing the issue is that the NV constitution requires a process to change it, and even if a section of it is found to be unconstitutional nationwide, procedure still must be followed.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:46 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Yup.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 8:34 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

But marriage is between a man and a woman. SCOTUS can't change that, and neither can we.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 9:14 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

That's a nice political opinion 1:34. It's not the law.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:08 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Positive law, yes; immutable God given natural law, no.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:12 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

The Nevada Supreme Court stopped issuing legal opinions years ago. Now, their opinions are personal vendettas against certain attorneys and ignoring the law and facts.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:39 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

It's kind of like the deed restrictions that say "No Negroes." There is a process to disavow the language, even though they haven't been enforceable since 1948.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 10:57 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

The ballot question is a liberal display of piety which may backfire. Deplorables who resent judicial activism in legislating from the bench could adopt this initiative as a rallying cry to push back for spite. Kennedy labeled those opposed to equality as bigots and hateful if you didn't jump on board. Putting this on the ballot is forced bootlicking….confess you were wrong to put the SSM requirement into your constitution in 2002, you bigots. CONFESS error and repent…….. It better pass or we will have a black eye in the court of public opinion and boycotts.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 3, 2020 5:47 pm

People are pushing against the incestuous corruption in Boulder City and now the incestuous corruption is pushing back. That should have been the headline of the BCR story.

Kevin Lawrence
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Kevin Lawrence
September 4, 2020 3:28 am

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Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 3:16 pm
Reply to  Kevin Lawrence

I want a loan

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 5:42 pm
Reply to  Kevin Lawrence

Did he lose his HRH title of being a Prince and relocate from Nigeria?

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 4:11 pm

Curious. An article appeared in the RJ today all about how Sisolak's eviction moratorium is burdening landlords, and how renters are going to skip out, etc. Regardless of where you fall on the issue, the total absence of a mention of the Trump-pushed CDC regulation certainly should raise some eyebrows.

Until you remember that Adelson owns the RJ. Kind of depressing to see its quality decline so much.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 4:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I am from Utah, and continue to consume Utah news. The Utah media market is roughly the same size as Las Vegas. The difference in the quality of journalism makes me sad. Both the Trib, and even the Deseret News, are on a whole different level compared to the RJ. The TV news in Salt Lake is higher quality too. Most of the stations here in LV just do quick, cheap and easy police blotter stories. The stations in Salt Lake produce content that is deeper and wider. Salt Lake has KSL radio, which admittedly isn't what it was 15 years ago, but Las Vegas doesn't even have a local commercial news radio station. KXNT tried a few years ago, but it flopped in the ratings.

The biggest reason why there isn't much decent journalism in this town is because most people that live here don't care.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 5:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Yes but no. The Federal restrictions on evictions have impacted very few people to date. The State eviction moratorium has been the cause of pain for landlords for over 5 months. Sisolak's literal 11th hour extension by 45 days and lack of really any meaningful direction other than kicking the can down the road irritated a lot of property owners. And lets be honest– eviction is pursuant to a state statute and state process.

The CDC directive came out of left field and raises certain overreach and federalism issues. However it also felt like an additional bullet by the Feds into a corpse that the state already killed (even though it arguably adds 45 days to the state's 45 day moratorium).

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 7:07 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

9:18 – assuming you are correct in that the quality of journalism is better (which is a debatable presumption given the Deseret News’ certain editorial slant), Lets provide a bit of context. While perhaps the present size of the media market in LV and SLC may be comparable, it has not always been so. And therein lies the difference. Print journalism hit essentially peak revenue in the early eighties and remained relatively flat through the early 2000s (yes some increase, but not nearly what its increase was before). So it wouldn’t make sense for newspapers to get started in the last twenty years, and they have infact declined (see eg print share arrangements with Tribune/Deseret News and LV Sun/RJ)
Population in Las Vegas has not always been equivalent to SLC. While now the population is larger than SLC , it wasn’t until the early nineties that population gained equivalence. (In 1993 SLC pop was 820,000, LV Population was 857,000). In 1980 Las Vegas was 60% of SLC population and in 1970, Less than half. I won’t even address the issue with whether or not the media markets are the same (ie Wasatch Front v Vegas Valley)
Further the transitory nature of LV residents mean they don’t have strong ties. I don’t see many former vegas residents subscribing to Deseret News, but there are many former (and indeed never) residents of SLC who subscribe to the Deseret News by mail or as an additional in their local (ie Arizona Republic).
And yes, I would garner that there is an increased newspaper reading audience in SLC (or at least was), but the Deseret News also has a strong benefactor.
But I don’t think a lack of interest is the primary reason. Vegas newspapers were never as well established as SLC. Plus there is a strong interest in boosterism here in Vegas to support the essential tourist industry. Thus local advertisers are not going to support a paper which scratches beyond the glossy surface of the neon glow of the casinos.
The tl;dr is that population disparity and business industry explain more difference than the supposed quality of the different populations.

Anonymous
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Anonymous
September 4, 2020 9:28 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

12:07, RJ is trash because the people reading it demand that it be trash.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
September 4, 2020 9:44 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

12:07 PM,

9:18 here.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. Your argument about the transitory vs. more permanent natures of the population is on point. That's a huge difference that contributes to why people here just don't care about quality journalism.

I'm not sure I follow your history argument. It's true the Deseret News has a "benefactor" with financial largesse. However, historically the Tribune has had a much larger circulation than the D-News, and has frequently targeted that benefactor (although less so in the very recent past). The Tribune has an audience that values high quality journalism. A paper like the Tribune would die in a month in Vegas.

Which leads me to my next point. This town does not value education. It's the least educated major city in the Western U.S. It's not a town of readers.

But you never touched on my observation about the difference in TV news. I invite anyone to watch any of the local news broadcasts tonight in Las Vegas and compare them with any station in Salt Lake, particularly KUTV and KSL. The difference is gonna bum you out. TV news in Salt Lake is comprehensive. You'll feel that you actually became informed about some things. The TV news in Vegas is just a string of police blotter reports and, on occasion, Darcy Spears ambush-berating some immigrant restaurant operator. KTNV is particularly awful. They talk to the audience like we're a bunch of six year olds. Unwatchable. Uninformative.

Anyway, the reason that our journalism sucks is because there is no audience for good journalism. We'll never have the equivalent of KSL Radio, the Tribune or KSL TV/KUTV. Our company paper (the RJ) isn't even as good as Salt Lake's company paper (the Deseret News).