CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court announced the formation Thursday of a 28-member blue ribbon study commission to look into all aspects of the state's judicial system.
"It is an appropriate time to conduct a comprehensive review of the Nevada court system because of the heightened interest in the Supreme Court's operation and decision-making process," retiring Chief Justice Bob Rose said.
Advertisement
With the judicial elections now over and the 2007 Legislature approaching, Rose said it's the right time to review the judicial system and make recommendations for legislative consideration.
"The Supreme Court has great expectations for this commission and hopes it will provide a blueprint for our judicial future," he said.
Rose added he expects members will look at the influence of money and special interests in judicial elections, and the accountability and discipline of Nevada judges.
An in-depth study of Nevada courts has not been conducted since 1994 when the "Rose Commission" took a long look at the judiciary. Rose will chair the initial meeting of the "Article 6 Commission" in December. He retires from the court Dec. 31.
Justices Michael Douglas and Ron Parraguirre then will co-chair the Commission, while incoming Chief Justice Bill Maupin has general oversight of the project.
The task force has been labeled the "Article 6 Commission" after the section in the state Constitution that established Nevada's courts.
The first meeting will be held at the state Supreme Court in December. All meetings will be open to the public. Rose anticipates the commission will meet every other month and rotate between north and south.
"I anticipate a no-nonsense, hard-working commission that gets to the important issues quickly and is able to make recommendations to the Legislature during the 2007 session," Rose said.
He said the commission could hold meetings into 2008.
Among the members are state Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, UNLV ethicist Craig Walton, former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, Boyd Law School Dean Richard Morgan, National Judicial College President William Dressel and Las Vegas lawyers Gene Porter and Mark James.
The committee's work comes several months after a lengthy Los Angeles Times investigation of the Nevada judicial system titled "Juice vs. Justice." Porter, a former district judge, was one of many judges the Times looked at critically.
