The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection (Commission) announced today it will accept applications for open judicial seats in the Eighth Judicial District Court until 5 p.m. on Feb. 24 in Carson City.
The Commission plans to select candidates for openings in Dept. 10 and Dept. 18 because of the retirements of Judge David Barker and Judge Jessie Walsh. According to recently amended rules, applicants must apply for only one judicial department, may not switch departments after submission, and may no longer apply for both open judicial seats. The final selection of judges will be made by Governor Brian Sandoval.
The appointment process is open to all Nevada attorneys with 10 years of legal experience, including two years in Nevada. As the Las Vegas office will be in the middle of relocation efforts, applications must be submitted to the AOC in Carson City by the deadline.
The applications for these vacancies are available at http://bit.ly/NVJudicialSelection. Applications that are filed late or are incomplete will be rejected. Interviews to fill the vacant positions are tentatively scheduled for the week of April 12, at the Supreme Court/Court of Appeals Courthouse in Las Vegas, 408 Clark Ave., and will be open to the public.
The public can view the submitted applications, with the exceptions of medical records and personal identification information, on the Supreme Court website. 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 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.