Leadership at the Nevada Supreme Court changed on January 4, 2021 when Justice James Hardesty assumed the post of Chief Justice and Justice Ron Parraguirre began serving as Associate Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice is the administrative head of the Nevada Judiciary and the public voice of the Nevada Supreme Court. Hardesty represents the Judiciary at the Nevada Legislature and will present the State of the Judiciary tentatively scheduled address to lawmakers on March 25, 2021.
In November 2004, Hardesty was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court. He previously served as Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court in 2009 and 2015 having twice been re-elected to the Court without opposition in 2010 and 2016.
On January 4, 2021, Justice Kristina Pickering was sworn in for a third term on the Nevada Supreme Court.
Justice Douglas Herndon also took the oath of office at 1:30 p.m. in Carson City at the Nevada Supreme Courtroom and joined the full court for oral arguments on January 5, 2021.
Most recently, Justice Herndon was the District Court Judge for Department 3 of the Eighth Judicial District Court, having originally been appointed to this position by Governor Kenny Guinn in January 2005. Thereafter, he was retained by election in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 and 2014. Prior to his judicial appointment, Herndon enjoyed a fourteen-year career in the Clark County District Attorney's Office, the last nine years of which were spent as the Chief Deputy District Attorney in charge of the Special Victims Unit. Herndon was born and raised in Texas, having received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 1986. He then received his law degree in 1990 from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia.
During the same ceremony, Judge Bonnie Bulla was sworn in to complete her first term on the Court of Appeals. She was appointed by Governor Sisolak and sworn in March 2, 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Justice Abbi Silver's election to the Supreme Court. Under the Constitution, Bulla was required to run to retain the seat for the remainder of Judge Silver's term and will stand for election again in 2022 for a new 6-year term.