CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection has begun the process of filling two vacancies in Clark County District Court that resulted from the elections of District Judges Michael Cherry and Nancy Saitta to the Nevada Supreme Court, Chief Justice Bob Rose said Thursday.

Applications will be available starting today for attorneys who wish to apply for the vacancies. The deadline for submission of applications is Dec. 29.

Announcements of the vacancies already have been mailed by the Administrative Office of the Courts to every licensed Nevada attorney.

The commission will conduct interviews during the week of Feb. 12. Following the interviews, the commission will submit the names of three nominees for each vacancy to Gov. Jim Gibbons, who will appoint the replacements from the lists.

No time limit exists within which the governor must make his appointments. However, if appointments are not made within 30 days following submission of names by the commission, the governor may make no other appointments to public office.

The appointed judges will serve until the terms expire at the end of 2008. They must run in the 2008 elections to retain the seats and win full 6-year terms.

Also this week, another judicial selection committee winnowed down the field of attorneys seeking to replace Las Vegas Justice of the Peace James Bixler, who is vacating his seat because he won a Clark County District Court judgeship in last month's election.

After interviewing 19 candidates, the Clark County Justice of the Peace Judicial Selection Committee decided to forward the names of three recommended nominees to the County Commission, which will make the appointment at their Dec. 20 meeting.

Vying for the open seat will be local attorney Michael Villani and prosecutors Melissa Saragosa and Bernie Zadrowski, county spokesman Dan Kulin said.