Court Of Appeals Applicant Interviews To Reveal Abilities And Judicial Readiness

Clark County Nevada
November 26, 2004

Open to the Public and Open for Public Comment:

The process to become a judge on Nevada’s new Court of Appeals requires the applicants to complete a lengthy application, submit to multiple background checks, and finally answer questions about their readiness and ability to be a judge. Applicant interviews occur December 1-4 at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. A total of 36 individuals have applied for three open judicial seats.

The public can view the applications, with the exceptions of medical records and personal identification information, on the Judicial Selection Commission’s website: http://www.nevadajudiciary.us/index.php/judicialselection. A public agenda and interview schedule can also be found on the website.

The interview process reveals how an applicant considers facts, how they make decisions, and the applicant’s demeanor. Commission members will consider education, law practice, business involvement, community involvement, and professional and personal conduct. The Commission also will consider applicant requested letters of reference, letters from the public, and public statements made during the interview process.

Interviews will be held in the Supreme Court courtroom located on the 17th Floor of the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Avenue, Las Vegas. Interviews will be video conferenced to the Supreme Court courtroom in Carson City and the Washoe County Courthouse, 75 Court Street, Room 220-A, in Reno.

As has been the rule since 2007, the Commission’s interviews are open to the public. In addition, a public comment period is scheduled for the start and end of each day of interviews and before the deliberations and voting on Thursday afternoon to provide an opportunity for those who wish to address the Commission about the applicants’ qualifications.

After the interviews, the Commission will meet the afternoon of Thursday (Dec. 4) to select the 9 individuals, 3 for each department, to be sent to Governor Brian Sandoval for his consideration and selection. Governor Sandoval has indicated a desire to select 3 judges for the Court of Appeals without delay to allow the court to begin considering cases as early as January 2015.

Applicants

Court of Appeals – Department 1
Interview Schedule
Dept. 1 Applicants
Monday (Dec. 1)
8:30 am – 5 pm

• Janet L. Chubb, 71, Kaempfer Crowell
• Michael D. Davidson, 60, Attorney, Kolesar & Leatham
• Chris W. Davis, 54, Attorney, Chris Davis, Esq.
• Robert E. Gaston, 75, Attorney, Gaston Resolution
• David A. Hardy, 50, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District
• Robert A. Nersesian, 57, Attorney, Nersesian & Sankiewicz
• Janet C. Pancoast, 55, Attorney, Cisneros & Marias
• Kirby J. Smith, 57, Attorney, Lionel Sawyer & Collins
• Julien G. Sourwine, 75, Attorney, Sourwine & Sloane, Ltd.
• Jerome T. Tao, 46, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District

Court of Appeals – Department 2
Interview Schedule
Dept. 2 Applicants
Tuesday (Dec. 2)
8:30 am – 5 pm

• Thomas D. Beatty, III, 72, Attorney, Law Offices of Thomas D. Beatty
• Michael Patrick Gibbons, 58, District Court Judge, Ninth Judicial District
• William B. Gonzalez, 53, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District
• Susan Holland Johnson, 55, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District
• Thomas G. Kurtz, 63, Court Hearing Master, Eighth Judicial District
• Alan J. Lefebvre, 61, Attorney, Kolesar & Leatham
• Anat R. Levy, 52, Attorney, Anat Levy & Associates
• Kerry Z. Malone, 53, Attorney, Nevada Supreme Court
• Michelle L. Morgando, 55, Attorney, State of Nevada, Department of Administration, Hearings and Appeals Division
• Richard Wayne Sears, 68, Attorney, Sears Law Firm, Ltd.

Court of Appeals – Department 3
Interview Schedule
Dept. 3 Applicants
Wednesday (Dec. 3)
8:30 am – 5:30 pm

Dept. 3 Applicants
Thursday (Dec. 4)
8:30 am – 12:30 pm

• Jeffrey R. Albregts, 57, Attorney, Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley Woloson & Thompson
• Karl W. Armstrong, 56, Attorney, Ray Lego & Associates
• James Shields Beasley, 70, Attorney, Law Offices of James Shields Beasley
• Barry Louis Breslow, 52, Attorney, Robison Belaustegui Sharp & Low
• Allan Ray Earl, 73, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District
• C. Stanley Hunterton, 66, Attorney, Hunterton & Associates
• Paul Dee Johnson, 57, Attorney, Clark County District Attorney’s Office
• Annie J. Kung, 43, Attorney, Kung & Brown
• Brian T. Kunzi, 56, District Attorney, Nye County
• Aaron D. Lovaas, 44, Attorney, Lovaas & Lehtinen
• Aurora Maria Maskall, 51, Attorney, Lee Hernandez Landrum & Garofalo
• Michael R. Montero, 48 , District Court Judge, Sixth Judicial District
• Joseph R. Plater, 55, Attorney, Washoe County District Attorney’s Office
• Douglas R. Rands, 55, Attorney, Rands South & Gardner
• Abbi Silver, 49, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District
• Joan Chisholm Wright, 62, Attorney, Allison Mackenzie Pavlakis Wright & Fagan

Commission On Judicial Selection

The Commission on Judicial Selection is composed of 7 permanent members – the Supreme Court Chief Justice, three non-attorneys appointed by the Governor and three attorneys appointed by the State Bar of Nevada. Neither the Governor nor the Bar may appoint more than two permanent members from the same political party, and cannot appoint two members from the same county.

The Commission members are:

• Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Gibbons, Chair.
• Valerie Cooney, Carson City, past executive director of Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevada (State Bar appointee)
• Jeffrey Gilbert, Henderson, veteran gaming executive (Governor appointee)
• Jesse Gutierrez, Sparks, former executive director of Nevada Hispanic Services (Governor appointee)
• Gregory Kamer, Las Vegas, with Kamer Zucker Abbott (State Bar appointee)
• Jasmine Mehta, Carson City, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (State Bar appointee)
• Leslie M. Williams of Schurz in Mineral County, Administrative Assistant for Washoe County Senior Services (Governor appointee)

Chief Justice Mark Gibbons will recuse himself from participating in interviews and selection of candidates in Department 2.

Associate Chief Justice Kristina Pickering will lead the interview and selection process for the Department 2 candidates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Commission Staff Member Myrna Byrd
Administrative Office of the Courts in Las Vegas
702-486-3201

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