- Quickdraw McLaw
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As if she heard your cries from the comments of this blog, the RJ’s Carri Geer Thevenot (@CarriGeer) has delivered an article called “Questions raised about judges choosing campaign over court.“
In it, we learn that Judge Kenneth Pollock has been out on medical leave from the bench since August, but has still managed to make several campaign events. When asked about his health, he says, “I really don’t think my medical condition is relevant.” Really, Judge? You’re unable to perform your elected duties for a couple of months and yet your health is not relevant as voters are making up there minds whether to reelect you?
In the article, we also learn that on October 2, a campaign event in Henderson drew 60 candidates between the business hours of 10 am to 2 pm. Two of those candidates were Judge William Gonzalez and Judge Kerry Earley, who both opted to have senior judges cover their calendar while they were out pressing the flesh. Gonzalez had the senior judge scheduled that day because he was sick–he was under the weather while he attended the campaign event and only did so because it was important. Earley used a vacation day that day and handled all but three matters scheduled to be heard that day in advance.
Now let us be clear, just because these three judges were singled out in this article does not mean they’re always playing hooky. As state employees, judges get four weeks of paid vacation a year and work public employee hours. Also, because our citizens don’t want to have judges appointed, the judges (who can’t afford the services of David Thomas) may have no choice but to hit the campaign trail or be out of a job. Thus, it is understandable that a judge might use one of those vacation days for an important campaign event (you’re excused, Judge Earley). It’s also possible that a judge who had taken ill and was on antibiotics may have coincidentally been ill on the day of an important campaign event–but the fact that he was taking those antibiotics for more than a week prior leads one to wonder if that judge couldn’t have used a vacation day and re-calendared hearings for that day instead of having a senior judge fill in at taxpayer expense (this one needs more investigation). It’s also possible that a judge could have a doctor’s note that says you are not to work, but are free to attend limited campaign events provided you get lots of rest. Yes, certainly possible. However, when taken in context, an extended medical leave that coincides with campaign season, attendance at out of town campaign events, and believing that the medical condition of such a judge is not relevant during an election–well, that’s harder to excuse.
All of this begs a follow-up question, if this is the kind of use of senior judges we’re seeing on just one day during campaign season, then how are the 26 senior judges being used the other 6 years of our judges’ terms. We’ve heard some of you complain in the comments that this is a more widespread problem. In what departments are you frequently seeing the senior judges? Do you think it’s a problem or just a good use of resources? Anyone want to go down to the RJC and request to look at all the senior judge requests and let us know more facts?
Finally, if you’re going to be at one of the parties tonight, please drink responsibly and don’t endanger yourself and others by getting behind the wheel drunk!
I'm gettin' my free drunk on tonight. Hell yeah!
CPK RULES!!!!!
Yaaaaahhhhh Vegas
The Blog and the RJ Reporter should ascertain which Departments are always playing hook for the past couple of years. The hooky departments are not even mentioned in the article or in the blog.
Excuse me–"playing hooky…" Can't wait for the CPK party. Long week.
I don't think Judge Earley has worked the entire campaign season. She keeps continuing things and punting.
I second that. It seems like Judge Early has been on auto-pilot for the past 6 months ago.
I know Judge Steel has had a senior judge covering her calendar for a few weeks now, but I've heard it's because she had hip surgery.
The blog and the reporter need the list from Court Administration to show which Departments are absent and how often. Not for the past week, but the past year or two.
and the cost
this is pretty brutal:
http://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/hutchison-lets-flores-have-it
I'm guessing it must have at least some truth to it… yikes! Doesn't look good for Lucy.
It's entirely true. What it doesn't say is that the expenses were allowable, it was only the non-disclosure that caused a problem. But on the whole, this attack ad is more persuasive than all of Lucy's "Oh, look at all the things I'm going to do in the Lt. Governor's office!" bullshit. Case in point – recent Flores ads about education. Do a lot of work on education while waiting for the governor to leave the state?
She doesn't have a chance. As a Boyd alum, I look forward to the day that Boyd grads hold a good portion of the high state offices, but I think Hutch is probably the better choice here.
Surprise the Blog is taking sides giving one judge a pass and beating up on one or two judges. How often do judges use Senior Judges? What are the parameters? Are their abusers of the system?
The courts and administration are not very user friendly in providing this information. All this information should be posted by Court Administration on line for everyone to see.
I think the RJ had an article about this awhile back. Something to do with Lee Gates sitting more as a senior judge than he actually did as an actual judge because he received the additional pay.
@10:44
You are doing much better (holding back the erratic allcaps) but your gang-raped grammar is still a dead give-away. YOU ARE AN UNWANTED TROLL!!!!!!!
And you are mentally disturbed!
If you ask Court Administration about the records and use of Senior Judges by Judges, they will tell you to contact the Administrative Office of the Courts. The AOC is in Carson City. Carson City will tell you they don't have specific records to pull up but you might be able to go to Carson City and looks at books and binders of previous requests by the Departments. So this is total b.s. and just an attempt to stymie and to not make such records public. Who are they protecting? What are they trying to hide? Can someone get to the bottom of this? We need to know this when casting our vote.
Really? You cannot be serious. Can you say . . . Research? No, of course it's a plot masterminded by Obama … Right?
Where is Lisa Willardson when we need her? She was able to get this information from Court Admin. But, then she had friends in high places. While I did not care for the woman's style, she was great at drawing attention to the issue of judicial "time off."
Oh, and the "where is she" is rhetorical.
If this issue is so important for you to make multiple comments about, why don't you take up the cause yourself? There's nothing so infuriating as listening to an anonymous commenter whine and complain and demand that others do something. When will you realize that if you won't do it, no one will?
Do you mean to go to Carson City to look up the use of senior judges by the departments. Isn't that a bit onerous and ridiculous? The point is the Blog took up the issue and expressed opinions but the information/data can not be obtained. Maybe the newspaper will be able to find out who has been "playing hooky."
Yes you boring flame-throwing non-lawyer troll. You are not part of the legal community. The blog is not interested in your small minded and ignorant opinion. I am so sick and tired of you trashing the comments with your pea brained run-on sentences. And BTW there is a difference between s, es, and 's. We write for a living you uneducated toaster-brain.
Speaking of absentee judges, I loved Kat Ramsay walking around the CPK party with a printout in her back pocket of all the days she actually missed. I was in a group and she just walked up, whipped out the printout and started talking. Didn't even wait for the obligatory "Hey Judge, how are you?" She's a tad delusional.
How long was the list?
Who the hell is Kat Ramsay? I wouldn't be able to pick her out of a line up, and I've been practicing for 8 years.
Looks like she is a Municipal Court Judge, City of North Las Vegas.
http://www.cityofnorthlasvegas.com/departments/municipalcourt/Ramsey.shtm
Sr. Judge Estes is awesome. It's pretty sad we have to wait for a judge to retire and no longer be beholden to campaign donors before they start being awesome. (And by awesome I mean following the law and being decisive)
Get a strange result during an election? Go check your judge's campaign donations. Hooray for elected judges!
I came into contact with Gonzalez @ the event discussed in that article, and by no means was he under the weather. In reading the article he did not say he was sick on the day of the event. He didn't say he was taking a vacation day either. The article had no explanation for why he used a substitute senior judge on that day, but seemed Gonzalez tried to excuse his behavior by talking about his illness from two weeks prior. From those of us on the outside looking in, it seems he took off that day to pursue his re-election campaign at the expense of the taxpayer.
Of course the judges are taking time off to campaign. They are clearing their calendars and kicking the can down the road. I am glad that the newspaper and this blog are exposing what should be very obvious. However, they are only scratching the surface. Absenteeism is troubling.
Considering most judges take work home on the weekends and evenings they should be able to take time off like anyone else. Also, it's no one's business what I do on my vacation days so why should they have to explain what they do with their days off.