Carson City Judge James Wilson rejected an early challenge to a proposed ballot initiative that would bring open primaries and ranked choice voting to Nevada. [RJ; TNI]
Henry Ruggs’ defense team is awaiting body-cam footage of the crash scene. [RJ]
Meanwhile, Nate Hobbs says he was “just tired’ when found asleep at the wheel. He is expected to play Sunday. [8NewsNow]
Joint Nevada Supreme Court and EJDC Administrative Order tackles civil backlog resulting from pandemic–don’t expect a lot of easy continuances in the near future. [eighthjdcourt blog]
New Administrative Order 22-01 modifies guardianship procedures and assignment of minor’s compromise proceedings. [eighthjdcourt blog]
As mentioned in the comments yesterday, it looks like Terry Coffing won’t be trying for the bench this year as he takes on a new in-house job. [Press Release via PRweb]
As law schools admit more students, will there be enough jobs? [ABA Journal]
Chemerinsky: Expect a momentous year ahead for the Supreme Court. [ABA Journal]
You are receiving this email because you are a registered user in the Eighth Judicial District Court's e-filing system. This is in reference to AO 21-09 which impacts civil cases only. Click here for a direct link to the order posted on the District Court website.
Due to the shutdowns at the beginning of COVID-19, the Eighth Judicial District Court has experienced a significant backlog of civil trial cases. Despite significant effort from the court, the past six months conducting trials has failed to decrease our backlog. This is a matter of great concern to the Eighth Judicial District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court. To address the backlog, a joint administrative order has been issued. The order is attached and available on the court's website.
The order reiterates several of our EDJC rules regarding trial management and imposes a few additional requirements. Of note, a motion to continue must be supported by an affidavit, or if there is not sufficient time, supported by oral sworn testimony from the lawyer. Trials may not be vacated by stipulation, and a motion for counsel to withdraw man not be granted if it would delay trial. If a continuance is sought because a witness is unavailable, EDCR 7.30(b) has specific information that must be presented to the court. EDCR 2.69 requires lawyers to appear at calendar call ready to go with exhibits, jury instructions, proposed void dire questions, etc. After a trial is set at calendar call, under the administrative order, any continuance requires a written motion and a finding by the judge of extraordinary circumstances. Also, pursuant to the order, if a case has settled, the parties must provide a written stipulation or agree to enter the agreement in the minutes of the court. If the agreement is entered into the minutes, the judge must set a status check within 21 days to ensure the settlement documents are provided.
The order also creates a civil trial reassignment calendar. Each civil judge will set all trials ready to go during a particular trial stack, even if that means setting multiple trials for the same week. Any trials the judge cannot manage because of conflicts with other trials will be reassigned. The court will hold a calendar on Thursdays at 9 am to address any trials that need reassignment for the next week. Peremptory challenges are not permitted for overflow assignments by Nevada Supreme Court rule; however, to address concerns that have previously made civil overflow unsuccessful, we will be implementing a "strike list" to allow each side some input in the reassignment process.
Some of these measures will be a significant change in practice. The Eighth Judicial District Court appreciates everyone's cooperation and patience as we work to ensure that litigants have fair and speedy resolution of their civil disputes.
Guest
law.dawg
January 7, 2022 7:52 pm
Tolls do be trollin' tho.
Guest
Anonymous
January 7, 2022 8:32 pm
Judges must calendar 10 trials per department per week, 50 trials per stack. Sounds realistic.
Perhaps they could offer a program like the federal "Early Neutral Evaluation" mediation before discovery really begins would be a way to close out cases that are merely value disputes? Instead of these 16.1 conferences?
Yeah, and its not like Covid didn't effect lawyers ability to complete discovery, or that there is mass of litigation and too few personnel to process the same efficiently by plaintiff and defense firms. I dare say NSC and EJDC dont understand reality.
This has been my experience with Linda Bell and my concern for her on the NSC. These rules sound good in theory, but do not take in to consideration the reality of practice. I understand there is a HUGE backlog of cases. Some of those are ready for trial. Others aren't. The ones that are ready and all parties agree they are ready can/should be given priority. Let's clear those out. Then we talk about forcing the others to trial. This just seems like it's going to lead to a bunch of unnecessary stress for the courts, attorneys and their clients.
Agree with all of the above. It is highly unrealistic to expect to see much of a dent in the backlog within six months. 12-18 months, maybe. I can only be in one place at a time, and there are many 2-3 year old cases where discovery is just now cranking up. I like Linda Bell very much as a person, but she is obviously way out of touch with the realities of civil practice.
And further to my comments above, what about the court staff? We like to joke around on here about some of them being pretty lazy, but how are they going to handle a bunch of jury trials, some complex with a ton of exhibits, back to back to back? Plus don't forget Omicron. Sure it may be less serious (based on what we know so far) but it still is nothing to fool around with and it spreads like wildfire. This will be like a giant rolling superspreader event. What happens when 20% or more of the court staff and marshals are out sick at any given moment? This is really not well thought-out.
This is funny in a sad way. We had a trial earlier in recent weeks where the judge (who shall remain nameless but who knows who they are) allowed the parties to do or waive openings and then called the parties into chambers and said that the pressure on trial court judges is so great that the judge was going to tell both sides what the court was going to rule at the end of the case so why don't the parties put a settlement on the record that was what the Court was going to rule so that the judge could move on and clear another case off of the court's stack because the pressure was on to move cases. This judge said that judges are going to start granting MSJs just so it is off of their plate and can be on the NSC's plate going forward. The hope for trial courts was that by the time remands come back some of the deluge will have subsided. Also said that this is NOT an EJDC move; this is pressure from Carson City which is why trial judges will have little concern rendering cases appeal ready faster.
Mouths agape but we did what the court indicated and convinced our clients to make a settlement on what the court stated. Horrible result but the frustration with trial courts is real.
It is a complete Hardesty IDGAF to all trial courts and lawyers in Southern Nevada, devoid of any insight or compassion for the struggles that people are going through. Someone mentioned last night Hardesty going to run a university. Rather than a university president, he is more suited to run Kazakhstan or North Korea.
My real fear of this is that Depts going to force us to stack on the same day when others in front of us are 'going,' and then have to pay our experts and block out time… only to call us Friday at 4pm and say our trial is continued 6 months. By then both sides have burned $12-25,000 in expert witness deposits, and I haven't slept for a week trying to prepare.
This used to happen all of the time in triple stacked calendars. Courts got smart that it was not working.
Guest
Anonymous
January 8, 2022 3:26 pm
#freestatebar
#freebonniebulla
#freethecontnuance
Guest
Anonymous
January 8, 2022 9:26 pm
I am at the Harry Reid funeral, too long. No social distancing.
Guest
Anonymous
January 10, 2022 5:35 pm
The ABA article is delusional. There is no way that many people are going to be able to get jobs that justify incurring $100K+ in student loan debt. Will they get $50k/year? Sure. And they'll never be able to afford a house or children. So dumb.
Going to law school was one of the worst choices I made. This job, and the accompanying student loans, sucks.
We are having trouble filling spots for first-year attorneys, and we pay over 100k per year starting (ID firm btw). All my friends in big firm/hiring positions are suffering the same fate. There is currently way more demand than supply of young lawyers in Nevada… What attorney jobs are paying 50k a year? I haven't heard of one in the last 8-10 years paying that low.
The debt is suffocating for many. It's the modern-day indentured servitude. Sure, some get their freedom after seven years, but many do not. And it costs many the basic American Dream components, like a home and a family.
The tuition is outrageous. There is no reason — none — that Boyd should be charging $40k to have professors lecture the students on "privilege" while drawing gargantuan salaries for reading out of text books.
9:35 here – 10:08 ID is exactly the point. Nothing personal, but I would rather shovel shit on a cow farm 8 hours a day. Everyone I know that does that work has no life. Even when they take the long weekend, they are still constantly working. That's not a life. You might as well keep a sleeping bag in your office. That's hell.
And I get it, the crash happened while I was in law school so my class had it rough when it came to the job market, but it's still not good and it sure as hell does not justify the cost of tuition.
I wouldve gone to dental school if I had it to do over again (20 yrs in)
Guest
Anonymous
January 10, 2022 6:41 pm
Friend at 10:08. How many do you hire each year at 100k+? How many graduates are there? In my class in 2005 I had many friends who did not find ANY job even at 50k. It's tough out there for some. I had to start my own SOLO and in the first month made more than most. But I was willing to do the lowest, shittiest, outhouse type of work in God's green earth – Family Law at 601 N. Pecos.
For those who have not received it yet….
You are receiving this email because you are a registered user in the Eighth Judicial District Court's e-filing system. This is in reference to AO 21-09 which impacts civil cases only. Click here for a direct link to the order posted on the District Court website.
Due to the shutdowns at the beginning of COVID-19, the Eighth Judicial District Court has experienced a significant backlog of civil trial cases. Despite significant effort from the court, the past six months conducting trials has failed to decrease our backlog. This is a matter of great concern to the Eighth Judicial District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court. To address the backlog, a joint administrative order has been issued. The order is attached and available on the court's website.
The order reiterates several of our EDJC rules regarding trial management and imposes a few additional requirements. Of note, a motion to continue must be supported by an affidavit, or if there is not sufficient time, supported by oral sworn testimony from the lawyer. Trials may not be vacated by stipulation, and a motion for counsel to withdraw man not be granted if it would delay trial. If a continuance is sought because a witness is unavailable, EDCR 7.30(b) has specific information that must be presented to the court. EDCR 2.69 requires lawyers to appear at calendar call ready to go with exhibits, jury instructions, proposed void dire questions, etc. After a trial is set at calendar call, under the administrative order, any continuance requires a written motion and a finding by the judge of extraordinary circumstances. Also, pursuant to the order, if a case has settled, the parties must provide a written stipulation or agree to enter the agreement in the minutes of the court. If the agreement is entered into the minutes, the judge must set a status check within 21 days to ensure the settlement documents are provided.
The order also creates a civil trial reassignment calendar. Each civil judge will set all trials ready to go during a particular trial stack, even if that means setting multiple trials for the same week. Any trials the judge cannot manage because of conflicts with other trials will be reassigned. The court will hold a calendar on Thursdays at 9 am to address any trials that need reassignment for the next week. Peremptory challenges are not permitted for overflow assignments by Nevada Supreme Court rule; however, to address concerns that have previously made civil overflow unsuccessful, we will be implementing a "strike list" to allow each side some input in the reassignment process.
Some of these measures will be a significant change in practice. The Eighth Judicial District Court appreciates everyone's cooperation and patience as we work to ensure that litigants have fair and speedy resolution of their civil disputes.
Tolls do be trollin' tho.
Judges must calendar 10 trials per department per week, 50 trials per stack. Sounds realistic.
Perhaps they could offer a program like the federal "Early Neutral Evaluation" mediation before discovery really begins would be a way to close out cases that are merely value disputes? Instead of these 16.1 conferences?
Yeah, and its not like Covid didn't effect lawyers ability to complete discovery, or that there is mass of litigation and too few personnel to process the same efficiently by plaintiff and defense firms. I dare say NSC and EJDC dont understand reality.
This has been my experience with Linda Bell and my concern for her on the NSC. These rules sound good in theory, but do not take in to consideration the reality of practice. I understand there is a HUGE backlog of cases. Some of those are ready for trial. Others aren't. The ones that are ready and all parties agree they are ready can/should be given priority. Let's clear those out. Then we talk about forcing the others to trial. This just seems like it's going to lead to a bunch of unnecessary stress for the courts, attorneys and their clients.
Agree with all of the above. It is highly unrealistic to expect to see much of a dent in the backlog within six months. 12-18 months, maybe. I can only be in one place at a time, and there are many 2-3 year old cases where discovery is just now cranking up. I like Linda Bell very much as a person, but she is obviously way out of touch with the realities of civil practice.
And further to my comments above, what about the court staff? We like to joke around on here about some of them being pretty lazy, but how are they going to handle a bunch of jury trials, some complex with a ton of exhibits, back to back to back? Plus don't forget Omicron. Sure it may be less serious (based on what we know so far) but it still is nothing to fool around with and it spreads like wildfire. This will be like a giant rolling superspreader event. What happens when 20% or more of the court staff and marshals are out sick at any given moment? This is really not well thought-out.
This is funny in a sad way. We had a trial earlier in recent weeks where the judge (who shall remain nameless but who knows who they are) allowed the parties to do or waive openings and then called the parties into chambers and said that the pressure on trial court judges is so great that the judge was going to tell both sides what the court was going to rule at the end of the case so why don't the parties put a settlement on the record that was what the Court was going to rule so that the judge could move on and clear another case off of the court's stack because the pressure was on to move cases. This judge said that judges are going to start granting MSJs just so it is off of their plate and can be on the NSC's plate going forward. The hope for trial courts was that by the time remands come back some of the deluge will have subsided. Also said that this is NOT an EJDC move; this is pressure from Carson City which is why trial judges will have little concern rendering cases appeal ready faster.
Mouths agape but we did what the court indicated and convinced our clients to make a settlement on what the court stated. Horrible result but the frustration with trial courts is real.
Keep electing the Nevada Supreme Court incumbents who create an even worse cluster fuck.
I believe the driver behind this CF of an Order is retiring in 10 months, perhaps to try to take over another university.
Yeah, this is another Jim Hardesty Special. Thank the lord it's probably the last one, although it's a doozy.
It is a complete Hardesty IDGAF to all trial courts and lawyers in Southern Nevada, devoid of any insight or compassion for the struggles that people are going through. Someone mentioned last night Hardesty going to run a university. Rather than a university president, he is more suited to run Kazakhstan or North Korea.
Cannot say much better for Elussa Cafish and Abbott Silver. Both royally screwed over my clients while on the bench.
Elissa Cadish and Abbi Silver
Insider here – this is coming straight from Hardesty at NSC. The man does not operate in reality when it comes to practicing in Clark County.
2:30 on 1/7 here. I retract my statement regarding Linda Bell. January 2023 can't get here quickly enough.
My real fear of this is that Depts going to force us to stack on the same day when others in front of us are 'going,' and then have to pay our experts and block out time… only to call us Friday at 4pm and say our trial is continued 6 months. By then both sides have burned $12-25,000 in expert witness deposits, and I haven't slept for a week trying to prepare.
This used to happen all of the time in triple stacked calendars. Courts got smart that it was not working.
#freestatebar
#freebonniebulla
#freethecontnuance
I am at the Harry Reid funeral, too long. No social distancing.
The ABA article is delusional. There is no way that many people are going to be able to get jobs that justify incurring $100K+ in student loan debt. Will they get $50k/year? Sure. And they'll never be able to afford a house or children. So dumb.
Going to law school was one of the worst choices I made. This job, and the accompanying student loans, sucks.
We are having trouble filling spots for first-year attorneys, and we pay over 100k per year starting (ID firm btw). All my friends in big firm/hiring positions are suffering the same fate. There is currently way more demand than supply of young lawyers in Nevada… What attorney jobs are paying 50k a year? I haven't heard of one in the last 8-10 years paying that low.
The debt is suffocating for many. It's the modern-day indentured servitude. Sure, some get their freedom after seven years, but many do not. And it costs many the basic American Dream components, like a home and a family.
The tuition is outrageous. There is no reason — none — that Boyd should be charging $40k to have professors lecture the students on "privilege" while drawing gargantuan salaries for reading out of text books.
9:35 here – 10:08 ID is exactly the point. Nothing personal, but I would rather shovel shit on a cow farm 8 hours a day. Everyone I know that does that work has no life. Even when they take the long weekend, they are still constantly working. That's not a life. You might as well keep a sleeping bag in your office. That's hell.
And I get it, the crash happened while I was in law school so my class had it rough when it came to the job market, but it's still not good and it sure as hell does not justify the cost of tuition.
@10:41 LOL thanks for that
I wouldve gone to dental school if I had it to do over again (20 yrs in)
Friend at 10:08. How many do you hire each year at 100k+? How many graduates are there? In my class in 2005 I had many friends who did not find ANY job even at 50k. It's tough out there for some. I had to start my own SOLO and in the first month made more than most. But I was willing to do the lowest, shittiest, outhouse type of work in God's green earth – Family Law at 601 N. Pecos.