Henderson ‘musketeers’ get high marks in survey

One Clark County attorney proclaims them "the Three Musketeers of judicial courtesy and respect." And most others who litigate in Henderson Township Justice Court agree the judges there are doing an exemplary job.

Judges Rodney Burr, Stephen George and David Gibson Sr. received retention scores of 92, 90, and 81 percent, respectively, in the Review-Journal's 2010 Judicial Performance Evaluation Survey. No other Clark County court has jurists with a higher average approval rating, the survey shows.

The Henderson justices of the peace attribute their strong scores to experience, good working relationships with staff and each other, and assignment to a court system that is less hectic than others in the area.

Burr, the court's chief judge, said he is pleased that attorneys strongly approve of the job he and his colleagues are doing.

"You do your job, and you put your blinders on, because you know you're not going to make everybody happy," Burr said.

He has gotten high ratings in the judicial survey since his election to the bench in 1990, which came at a time when Henderson Justice Court had just one department.

"The goal is to do justice, whether you're doing a speeding ticket or a murder case," he said.

Justice courts have limited jurisdiction over criminal cases, conducting arraignments and preliminary hearings in felonies and misdemeanors, deciding whether probable cause exists to advance a case to District Court for trial or a guilty plea.

Justices of the peace also can conduct trials for misdemeanor and traffic cases, and some small civil cases; however, the geographic area of Henderson Township is such that most misdemeanor and traffic cases wind up in Henderson Municipal Court.

The warm feelings for Henderson's justices of the peace don't extend to the three Municipal Court judges in the same courthouse. The average retention score of those judges was only 56 percent, tied for the lowest of any court in the survey.

George won his Henderson judgeship in 2000. Gibson became the newest addition to the Justice Court bench in 2008 when the court expanded to three judges. Burr and George were rated by about 100 attorneys, while Gibson's ratings were based on the opinions of 58 members of the Clark County Bar Association.

The attorneys polled by the newspaper said Burr's best judicial attribute is his lack of bias on the basis of gender (96 percent adequacy rating). George was singled out by survey respondents for his high level of courtesy (96 percent adequacy rating). And Gibson got his best marks for promptly issuing decisions (93 percent adequacy rating).

Henderson Justice Court was the third busiest Justice Court in the state last year, after Las Vegas and Reno, according to the 2009 Annual Report of the Nevada Judiciary, with each of three justices of the peace handling an average of about 4,000 non-traffic cases.

Among the high-profile cases that passed through Henderson Justice Court in the past year was that of a teenage mother accused of smothering her newborn son. Burr, who presided over that case, also oversaw the coroner's inquest into the fatal police shooting two years ago of an ice cream truck driver .

George, a former Las Vegas deputy city attorney, said he tries to give every case the attention it deserves.

"It's difficult for district attorneys and public defenders to prepare for 25 preliminary hearings on one day," said George, who is the son of U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd George. "It's a stressful experience for them and for their clients and everybody else who comes to court. I try to mitigate some of that stress."

A typical comment from the survey about Stephen George was, "An extremely kind and knowledgeable jurist. ... Not a hint of ego or pride, and he is happy to serve."

Attorneys who participated in the judicial survey also heaped praise on Gibson. One wrote: "He is smart, understands the law and the process, he runs a good calendar, is polite and well-mannered on the bench."

Gibson, a long-time public defender and Family Court hearing master, credited the atmosphere of the Henderson courthouse for playing a role in what goes on inside his courtroom.

"I wouldn't have run for office in the Regional Justice Center," he said. "Here, we have all the tools everyone else has, but we still have a small-town feel."

Contact reporter Alan Maimon at amaimon@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0404.