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EDITORIAL
For Family and Justice Court
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In Family Court Department C, we favor the enthusiasm of long-time Judge Steven Jones, who garners a 75 percent retention rating, over less-experienced Maria Maskall.
In Family Court Department F, Bill Gonzalez, the incumbent appointed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, has achieved a modest 60 percent retention rating, though he does rate well on integrity, courtesy and lack of bias. But challenger John Eccles, a pro-tem hearing master, is the better choice.
For Family Court Department S, Vince Ochoa, with 30 years experience, believes child welfare bureaucrats "have gone way overboard in taking kids out of the house" and has some good ideas on how the courts can help reform teen prostitutes. Vince Ochoa is a strong choice over Rebecca Wallace.
For Family Court Department T, Gayle Nathan, a former teacher of autistic children, has taken 1,000 cases to trial, and has experience on the bench as an alternate. Her plan to create a free online video to help those without attorneys advance their cases more briskly makes her a better choice than Carl Piazza.
In Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Department 3, 17-year incumbent Tony Abbatangelo, infamous for "friends and family day," has experience and a modest 71 percent retention rating. He also has a domestic violence conviction serious enough that his fellow judges have decided he can't sit on any domestic violence cases.
Voters have little choice but to cross their fingers and choose challenger Janiece Marshall, a construction defect lawyer with little experience in criminal law.
In the race for Justice of the Peace Department 6, a challenger who struggled to pass the bar exam prissily accuses highly experienced prosecutor Bill Kephart of having once faced a "prosecutorial misconduct" charge. His offense? In addressing the jury, he once stated a suspect had been caught after a "manhunt." Well, it wasn't a possum hunt. Bill Kephart is the clear choice over Kristine Kuzemka.
In Justice Court Department 7, eight-year incumbent Karen Bennett has earned a troubling 58 percent retention rating -- the lowest in the field. She's often cited for not meting out justice equally to all parties. Police-endorsed 18-year attorney Robert Kurth is the better choice.
There are two qualified candidates for Justice of the Peace in Department 13. But the energy and demeanor of Suzan Baucum, who recently retired as director of the Nevada Law Foundation and now hears between 50 and 75 court cases per day as a judge pro tem in three different municipal and justice courts, make her a better choice than James Gubler.
In the race for Justice of the Peace in Department 14, both candidates are well-qualified. But Deputy District Attorney Bernie Zadrowski has been practicing law in Justice Court for 13 years. He vows to "revamp the whole system" that allows defendants who can clearly afford an attorney to receive legal aid at taxpayer expense, and he calls random DUI checkpoints "a slaughter of the people's privacy rights." Bernie Zadrowski is the better choice over capable Assistant Attorney General Conrad Hafen.
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Well said Politics Princess. I know John Eccles and he is a very qualified candidate for the family court seat. He is smart, a fair decision maker, and he knows family law like the back of his hand. Gonzalez may be a nice guy and well liked in the community but that doesn's make him a good family court judge. His talents would be better used elseware as his appointment by Gibbons was completely political, and not based on qualifications or experience. Family law is very specialized and we need a specialist in there. My vote is for Eccles.
As for department F, what they are saying is that Judge Gonzalez has integrity and no bias, but he doesn't know family and makes poor decisions for that reason. You can be the nicest and most honest guy in the world and know nothing about the law you are deciding on. He never practiced family law and therefore cannot making relevant decisions for the families of Clark County. John Eccles has practiced only family law since his graduation from law school. The issue here is not integrity, it is knowledge and experience, of which Eccles clearly has more of both.
Nathen is a not worthy of this seat.She sent letter of withdraw once a few items of reality were semt to her from me and my Lawyer.Before that she just propagated Lie after Lie-I got custody and got another Lier Lawyer run out.Do not vote for the man hater.
I find it interesting that when a candidate gets a 60% retention you call it modest, but when the only Black judge gets a 58% retention you call it troubling. The racism levied against Judge Bennett by the media and by some lawyers in their critique of her is just awful and shows how far behind the times this community really is. You cite Judge Bennett as not being able to impart justice evenly, yet two candidates with basically equal scores get very different treatment. What's more, the retention score is calculated by lawyers who practice in front of these judges -- so perhaps Judge Bennett holds people more accountable than other judges and demands more excellence from lawyers than they are used to. Has this paper exercised the right to observe the candidate practice and see what she does. Judge Bennett is available every day in courtroom 8C -- what you would find, as I have in visiting her courtroom often, is a smart committed judge who puts community before ego. Judge Bennett works out solutions that get to the roots of problems and sometimes that means holding lawyers accountable. Judges should have no dog in the fight except to see justice served -- that is what she does. As for police endorsing her opponent, we should keep that in perspective -- again having actually seen her work as a judge it is very clear that she does not give special preference to police and prosecutors over other people -- everyone comes to court on an even playing field and that is what we should want in a judge. Voters should go and see what Judge Bennett does on a daily basis and then make a judgement. If I had to be in front of any judge in Clark County and want any shot at a fair proceeding it is in front of the Hon. Karen Bennett.
Really in depth coverage Reporter John Kerr; Sarcasm. Why isn't your name on the opinion? Irresponsible Jour nail is that looks like an infommercial on Jones. Do your research and write a story about the real Steve Jones; afraid of history? This is why people rely on alternative media. Status quo is going to go.
I wish the RJ would do its homework. Please do not use this misinformed and bias article as your voting guide.
Kephart misconduct: Valdez v. State, 196 P.3d 465 (2008) (improperly inflaming the jury, making prejudicial statements during jury selection, injection of personal opinion, making an inflammatory argument during closing argument); Honeycutt v. State,56 P.3d 362 (finding misconduct after Kephart choked a defendant); Randolph v. State, 36 P.3d 424, 430-31 (2001) (finding misconduct after Kephart mischaracterized reasonable doubt); Steese v. State, 114 Nev. 479, 960 P.2d 321 (1998) (noting numerous allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by Kephart but finding the defendant was not prejudiced); Murray v. State, 930 P.2d 121 (1997); (finding prosecutorial misconduct because Kephart commented on the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to remain silent). These are only the published decisions - who knows what else is out there in the unpublished orders.
Hilarious. Bernie Zadrowski puts old ladies in jail who bounce checks and manages a quasi-legal bad check unit. Hafen has my vote, even though he is probably a Democrat and Bernie is the former head of Clark County Republicans. Bill Kephart--loses his temper, strangles witnesses, and is a hard drinking, witness choking, jack-Mormon until he tries for the LDS vote. He tried to unseat Walsh . . . Billy, get the picture--no one in the legal community respects you. You may sneak in, but so did Halverson. I would rather her on the JC bench than you. P.S. Whiten your cheesy smile before you put up signs again.
Your editorial board has done a huge disservice to the citizens of Clark County by endorsing Gayle Nathan for Family Court Judge Dept. T. She has vey little practical experience in matters of family law or as an attorney as opposed to Carl Piazza who has practiced law for over 30 years. A teacher of autistic children is an honorable profession but it doesn't prepare Ms.Nathan for the rigors of deciding cases that affect the lives of children and parents. Nor does sitting for a few cases as an alternate judge give her the knowledge of the law she needs to make fair decisions.
Long time judge? vote them out!
The RJ, a staunch defender of the current system for electing judges, proves in this editorial why merit based appointment is so far superior. The RJ consistently gets about a good third to a half of its endorsements wrong--just like the general public.
First-Vince Ochoa is a sloppy practitioner and anyone in the family court arena can tell you that. Half the time he rolls in and doesn't know who his client is. Gayle Nathan doesn't have the intellectual horse-power to be a muni court judge. Despite Karen Bennett-Heron not being the cream of the crop, Robert Kurth is about the bottom of the barrel in the legal community. And Suzan Baucum has NO--make that ZERO--experience in Justice Court. And, no RJ, prior judicial experience as a pro tem doesn't count. If you are a lousy attorney (or one who never practice at all), you'll be a lousy judge regardless of your prior "substitute" judging. So, yep, the RJ gets it about half right most of the time. And these are the guys that make an effort to find out the facts. Think what the general public does!