38 lawyers vying for seats on District Court bench
A total of 38 lawyers have applied for three judicial District Court seats made vacant by the newly appointed Nevada Court of Appeals.
Twenty-five of those applicants want to fill the two open seats in Clark County, the Nevada Supreme Court said.
The list includes state and federal prosecutors, public defenders, a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace and private attorneys. They range in age from 35 to 69.
The Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection, a seven-member panel that includes the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court and with two temporary members, is expected to nominate three finalists for each open seat and send those names to Gov. Brian Sandoval for his consideration.
Last month, Sandoval named Jerome “Jerry” Tao and Abbi Silver, who served in the Clark County District Court, along with Michael Patrick Gibbons, who served in Douglas County District Court, as the inaugural appointments to the newly created state appeals court, leaving the three vacancies.
Since their appointments, a rotation of senior judges, along with current District Court judges, have covered their caseloads.
The commission is slated to interview candidates for Gibbons’ seat during the week of Feb. 23, while interviews for Silver and Tao’s seats are scheduled for the week of March 16.
Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker
