Amy McNair Judge's girlfriend had chance to be hired as bailiff Steven Jones Family Court judge denies allegations of domestic violence

The girlfriend of Family Court chief Judge Steven Jones was on the verge of getting a job as a bailiff in another Family Court judge's courtroom until Jones was arrested last week on an allegation of battering the woman, a Las Vegas attorney said.

"The situation was she thought she had the job," said Amy McNair's attorney, Randall Roske. "Now, after this happened, she apparently doesn't have the job ... and she has since been banned from Family Court."

McNair, a part-time legal secretary in Clark County, was under consideration to be hired as a bailiff by Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio. Jones was arrested on a domestic violence charge last week.

Roske could not speak to whether McNair has any law enforcement background, but an ethics expert said the situation raises the question of whether the most qualified people are getting hired for judicial bailiff positions.

Also on Thursday, Jones issued his first public statement on his arrest, denying he ever committed an act of violence against McNair.

"The allegations made by my accuser are completely false, and I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate the same to the appropriate court," Jones said.

"I am confident the truth will win out at the conclusion of this unhappy matter."

Last week, McNair, 34, accused Jones, 48, of shoving her during an argument over a chicken nugget, causing her to hit her head on a banister.

Jones, the presiding judge in Family Court who routinely rules on domestic violence cases, spent about 12 hours in jail after his arrest.

The bailiff's job McNair was eligible for is not posted to the public, and the salary for the position tops out at $45,639 annually. That figure does not encompass the county benefits package McNair would have been eligible for if hired.

Del Vecchio did not respond to requests for an interview. But court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said that he spoke with Del Vecchio, whose account differed from Roske's.

Sommermeyer said Del Vecchio said he was considering hiring McNair as his bailiff but later learned he could not do so while his current bailiff was on an authorized leave.

"He did consider it, he did talk to her, but he found out he couldn't offer her the position," Sommermeyer said.

Sommermeyer said he did not know whether Del Vecchio, a candidate for Nevada Supreme Court, knew at the time that McNair was Jones' live-in girlfriend.

Sommermeyer said McNair was not banned from Family Court. She was assigned only to work in positions at the Regional Justice Center because of a protective order in the case, Sommermeyer said.

Jones' attorney, James Jimmerson, said Wednesday he was unaware of any of the details about McNair's employment possibilities in Family Court.

But given McNair's status as Jones' live-in girlfriend, her consideration for the bailiff's job has raised questions about whether her filling the position would have been appropriate.

Craig Walton, a professor emeritus of ethics and policy studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, could not speak to McNair's qualifications for the bailiff's job. But he said Nevada law prevents cronyism and nepotism.

"Strictly speaking, you'd have to say that being someone's live-in girlfriend doesn't disqualify you from the job, but on the other hand, it sets up the question of what your qualifications really are and how they compare to everyone else's," said Walton, president of the Nevada Center For Public Ethics. "You don't want these positions handed out as if you were in some medieval fiefdom."

Bailiffs are responsible for providing security in courtrooms. The majority in Southern Nevada are hired by the county after the openings are posted. They are often commissioned officers and have law enforcement experience.

They can be hired if they have been through a law enforcement training academy.

But with those bailiffs, judges in Nevada get to choose their own individual bailiff under Nevada law, and those jobs -- known as judicial bailiff positions -- are not posted. Such bailiffs are not required to have previous law enforcement experience but must undergo academy training once hired.

Court Administrator Chuck Short said it is entirely up to the judge as to who they want to hire under Nevada law.

Short said that if a candidate being considered for a bailiff's position fails a background check, federal law dictates that they cannot carry a weapon, meaning they cannot be hired.

McNair is listed as a temporary judicial executive assistant with the county. She has worked for judges on a part-time basis, filling in for court employees who are on leave.

Both McNair and Jones are expected to appear this morning in front of a senior judge in a hearing to determine whether a temporary protective order against Jones should be extended on behalf of McNair.

Roske said he expects Jones will seek to have the hearing closed to the media and public.

Jimmerson said in an interview Wednesday the possibility exists the hearing will unfold behind closed doors.

In his statement Thursday, Jones said his girlfriend was "utilizing the media to promote her own self-serving agenda, notwithstanding whom it hurts."

Roske said his client and her mother received an eviction notice from Jones on Wednesday night.

The notice orders McNair and her mother out of Jones' Henderson home.