No One Is Worthless

  • Law

  • RJ seeks sanctions after Metro searched Jeff German’s phone. [RJ]
  • John Fortin seeks to upend Nevada’s forfeiture laws. [Reuters
  • If you don’t remember all the details, investigative journalist Doug Poppa interviewed Melanie Andress-Tobiasson on May 7, 2018. [@DougPoppa1]
  • A reader passed on information that was passed on by another attorney close to Melanie Andress-Tobiasson showing that there might have been some indications that she needed or wanted help. She filed for self-represented divorce in June of last year and on the form put, “Plaintiff would like to be restored to his/her former name of (insert former name you would like to go back to) Melanie Anne Worthless.” The records are since gone from Odyssey, but you can see she filed here and if you search her name you’ll find a mostly deleted “case created in error.” Please watch for signs of people asking for help in your family, friends, and co-workers. If you don’t know what to do, call 988 and get some advice. No one is worthless. 
42 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:27 pm

Can we put an ad out at the local elementary schools for a website designer to fix the garbage that is the "upgraded" Nevada Supreme Court website? I've seen better results from children learning to code, and better FIXES from children who did poorly on their first attempt. It has been nearly a month, This should not only be a major embarrassment to the powers that be, but heads should roll and investigations started. Someone is getting fat on taxpayer dollars for this garbage.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I mean WTAF Nevada Supreme Court? They want the public to have faith in them and they cannot even make a simple website work. You just need links to pdfs………

anonymous
Guest
anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:41 pm

I didn't know her, other than meeting socially a time or two over the years, but this new information this morning is just heartbreaking, and I feel so deeply for those close to her, who may be wrongly blaming themselves.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:46 pm

Speaking of attorneys with issues on August 2, 2022 Craig Mueller was told by District Judge Tara Clark Newberry he had to be standby by counsel on a criminal case, Case No. C-21-356279-1 and Mueller refused, walking out of the courtroom. According to the transcript Mueller said, after the judge told him she would issue an order to show cause and would make a bar referral if he did not remain for the trial, "Please do so. I'm tired of this profession."

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:55 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Not a criminal law practitioner. Could someone remind me about the law on essentially forcing an attorney to take a case like this? I legit can't remember. Whatever the law is, it's conscription as far as I'm concerned.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:04 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

You piqued my curiosity so I read the OSC. Says Mueller was counsel of record who was ordered to supervise his associate. The transcript lists Mueller as counsel of record. If true, that is quite a bit different than being conscripted to be standby counsel.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:08 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Regardless, can someone who knows him reach out and invite him for a cup of coffee or something? There’s enough names on the list, we don’t need to add to it. Please.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:14 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I read the transcript on ODYSSEY. The term "standby counsel" is a bit of a misnomer as if Mueller was ordered to come into a case for which he was not otherwise affiliated. It was Mueller's case. He was the supervising/senior attorney on the case/ Mueller stuck an associate in at the last minute, an associate which Mueller previously had thrown under the bus in a different case. He was ordered to supervise his associate.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:18 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I appreciate 11:08's comment. Practice of law is hard and this sounds like a cry for help. I'm not condoning it, but he has to be in a rough mental state to have that reaction. Be nice to the next attorney you interact with.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:22 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Judge Newberry said this is not the first time Mueller had been disrespectful to the court.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:24 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

The client had a licensed attorney from CM's firm representing him. The client said he wanted to go forward with this particular licensed attorney. The court essentially said, "no, one licensed attorney isn't enough, I want CM to be here too, even though CM has made representations on the record that his schedule prevents it." And because the judge believes CM has been disrespectful in the past, she fined him $500 at the OSC.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:33 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

There is more to it than that. Mueller had previously stated in another courtroom that the associate on whom he had recently dumped the case was suffering from cancer and that he might have dementia. Based on Mueller's representation that his associate might be impaired Judge Newberry ordered Mueller to remain in the courtroom during the trial. Mueller refused and walked out of the courtroom.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:46 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Might *have been* impaired at a past hearing due to medical treatments, which had been discontinued. The associate was present and confirmed it on the record, so it wasn't just CM pulling something out of the air.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:12 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Tara should have had her baliff detain him.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:29 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

CM has been mentioned on this blog a few times in the past year. He represented Mike McDonald and got divorced. Now he’s being rude to his staff in public and openly challenging a judge. Instead of talking about detaining him, how about we acknowledge this might be a whole bunch of red flags? It would be nice if we had Bar resources, but Hooge will just crucify him. Please, someone who knows him, reach out to him.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:30 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Wonder if the Judge is out of control here with Mueller.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 11:34 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Nothing wrong with Mueller. He is just standing his ground. The Judge should just let him off the case. Bar Counsel will not get involved in
pending litigation that have not been resolved. Nothing unethical here would be my guess.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 11:38 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

How so? Do you propose that the judge goes forward with a trial in which the competency/impairment of the acting defense attorney has been put in question in open court? Why even have a trial at that point when any conviction will obviously be overturned?

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 11:55 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Do I think it was a jerk move by the DA? Sure. Do I think it was a bad move by the judge? No. The misnomer here is that Mueller had never appeared in the case. Mueller was at the Calendar Call on July 27th and then just hands it to an associate on August 2nd and when told that the Court has concerns has an outburst. $500 is light in Kishner's courtroom.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 12:08 am
Reply to  Anonymous

Side note, the case ended in an acquittal. I think the DA raised this "issue" because they knew their case was weak and they would surely lose. They were trying to buy a continuance or force the guy to take a deal.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 12:39 am
Reply to  Anonymous

Mueller was divorced in 2019. There was a stipulated settlement which Mueller then tried to set aside. The matter went to the Supreme Court and he lost.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 4:45 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

@3:34 that may have been true under previous OBC, but not under the current regime.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:46 pm

Speaking of attorneys with issues on August 2, 2022 Craig Mueller was told by District Judge Tara Clark Newberry he had to be standby by counsel on a criminal case, Case No. C-21-356279-1 and Mueller refused, walking out of the courtroom. According to the transcript Mueller said, after the judge told him she would issue an order to show cause and would make a bar referral if he did not remain for the trial, "Please do so. I'm tired of this profession."

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 6:49 pm

Oh the power of Metro and its officers to get what and whomever they want.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 8:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

This comment could apply to both the Tobiasson story and the German story.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:25 pm

Can someone comment on the RJ's request for sanctions against Metro? Are sanctions warranted?

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 7:30 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Can't comment specifically on the RJ's request, but will say that sanctions against Metro are nearly always warranted.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 8:28 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Exactly. Metro needs a housecleaning.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 9:25 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Generally speaking, it seems that any judge who wants to be re-elected will covet and value an endorsement from the various police and public employee unions. That has to make it quite difficult to ever sanction Metro, even if it is merited.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:52 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Metro routinely has attorney's fees awarded against it in public records act cases, so I'm not so sure about claims they won't get sanctioned because judges don't want to upset the police and other unions.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 11:57 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Which makes this case all the more interesting….. R/J is always asking for fees when they want public access to information but now wants fees for having to block access to information. Hypocrites on all sides of this case.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 2:25 am
Reply to  Anonymous

They ask for fees when Metro blocks public access to public information. None of German's property is public information.

If a judge tells you not to ring a bell, and you promise you haven't rung it, and then it comes to light that yes, in fact you did ring that bell, you should be sanctioned.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 4:47 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

3:57 this is a law blog. Your comment tells me you’ve never set through con law.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 7:14 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I have not only set through Con Law; I sat through Con Law. The assertion that the issues regarding the newspaper asserting that it has a protectable interest in a decedent's devices does not tickle the constitutional issues that you might believe. There is an interesting division between whether the mobile devices were German's or were the RJ's devices regarding standing. The issue regarding German's devices is far more nuanced than the analysis above.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 23, 2023 10:16 pm

We now have Metro's most recent leader as our governor, and a Metro product as our Lt. Gov.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 3:52 pm

What the community may or may not know is that Melanie Andress's only brother committed suicide in 2000. I am heartbroken for their parents, who are amazing people.

May she truly rest in peace, free from demons and rejoicing at a reunion with her brother, Mike.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 4:08 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

Why would you put that information out to the public? She was a public figure, her father has kept himself out of the spotlight. I don't understand, the necessity to write about the son/brother. Let the family mourn.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 4:49 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

This community should be mourning too. She has suffered at the hands of internet trolls for too long. I liked her alot and respected her as a JP.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 5:17 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

We’ve had far too much of this the past few years. It wasn’t just internet trolls who hounded her to death. It was the Commission on Judicial Discipline, metro, and courthouse busy bodies who piled on the complaints because she had the nerve to use cuss words in her own chambers. It was the people who saw her pro per complaint said Worthless and did nothing. The legal community has to do better and that starts with OBC and the Commission.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 6:32 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

IMHO I thank 7:52 for the kind words, 8:08 I think is misguided

anonymous
Guest
anonymous
January 24, 2023 6:50 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

I agree fully with 9:17, but I doubt that anyone on that Commission, or working for it, will ever feel an ounce of remorse or engage in one moment of introspection about what happened and how she was (mis)treated. I'm not optimistic about anything changing, either.

Anonymous
Guest
Anonymous
January 24, 2023 7:14 pm
Reply to  Anonymous

9:17 here. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. – Dr Seuss

I think the legal profession in this town is at a point where we can’t not try.