When I first started practicing in the 80's District Judge Miriam Shearing was the only female judge, on any court in the county.

So, obviously, the pendulum needed to swing in the direction of adding significantly more female jurists. But some suggest it has swung too far in the other direction.

One reason may be that the public, as well as the media, still assume that females are not proportionately and fairly represented on the bench.

Perhaps if they realized that more than half our judges are now female, gender would no longer be the huge factor it is. That said, there are certain factions that would want to populate the bench with as many females as possible even though they are aware that females are more numerous than males in the Nevada Courts. So, there are those political, and other, considerations.

I don't believe that in this day and age, based on the training of attorneys, that it makes any difference what the gender is. Some people used to say that men tend to be "tougher" as judges, when that is called for, and that such can be a good thing. But for every tough and firm male judge, there is a female judge who is just as tough.

On the other hand, some people have claimed that female judges can be more "sensitive" than men, when that trait is called for. But for every sensitive and caring female judge, I can identify a male judge just as sensitive.

Also, of my half dozen favorite District Court Judges, three happen to be female, and three are male. And the same break down goes for my six least favorite District Court Judges.

So, as a practical matter, the operations of the bench appear completely unaffected based on the gender composition of the bench. So, it is something that makes no real practical difference to attorneys and litigants. But for the media and various political factions, the gender issue in appointments still looms large

The only rule I can go with is that we should all be able to speak freely. Like most people, I have things that are touchy for me e.g., my dad died an alcoholic, I once got ghosted by a new wife, etc. but if I go to a comedy show and Dave Chappelle does a bot about being left at the alter or the alcoholism, well, the whole world cannot stop laughing because of my touchiness. I once saw a Youtube video where a person went nuts because the comedian joked about deafness (he had a deaf wife in reality) and the person found it offensive. C'mon. True story, believe me or don't. My best friend in college was black in the 80s (I'm white) and once we got past all the jokes (I can't dance, etc.) we became very close because, in part, it was so obvious we could say anything that it became too easy or nonsensical or passe, but if we would have ignored the issue for years who knows. It's sort of like, as I ramble, that we just got it out of our system and became very close friends. A friendship I now attribute to helping me truly not be a prejudiced person. It's like we went past it. So as I ramble on, if you can't take a joke or are offended so easily, you should question where that sensitivity is coming from and how it will hold you back possibly.