The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection (Commission) announced today it will accept applications for the Eighth Judicial District Court, Department 29, open judicial seat until 5 p.m. on Sept. 23. The vacancy follows the death of District Judge Susan W. Scann.
The appointment process is open to all Nevada attorneys with 10 years of legal experience, including two years in Nevada. Applications may be submitted to the AOC in Carson City or Las Vegas according to application instructions.
The applications for these vacancies are available at: http://bit.ly/Dept29. Under rule amendments recently approved by the Commission, applications that are filed late or are incomplete will be rejected. Interviews to fill the vacant position are tentatively scheduled for the week of Oct. 24, at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, and will be open to the public.
The public can view the applications, with the exceptions of medical records and personal identification information, on the Supreme Court website a few days following the application deadline. The Commission invites written public comments about the qualifications of the applicants. As noted in the rules of the Commission, letters may remain confidential if requested by the letter writer. However, the contents of the letters may be discussed with the applicant during executive session. Anonymous letters may not be considered at the discretion of the Commissioners.
Following the application deadline, the Commission will conduct background investigations and interview each of the applicants. The Commission will then deliberate and nominate three finalists, whose names will be submitted to Governor Brian Sandoval for the appointment.
The Commission is composed of seven 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 State Bar may appoint more than two permanent members from the same political party, and cannot appoint two members from the same county. For District Court vacancies, two temporary members are appointed from the judicial district where the vacancy occurs – a non-attorney by the Governor and an attorney by the State Bar – bringing the Commission membership to nine.