Chief judge: Glass’ departure leaves holes to fill

When District Judge Jackie Glass trades in the bench for a Hollywood soundstage to star in the syndicated CBS legal reality show "Swift Justice," she will leave a handful of slight headaches for the judges she left behind.

Glass' coming absence sometime after June 10 not only creates a vacancy for one of the nation's busiest court systems, but it also leaves three innovative specialty courts without a judge.

"I'm really excited for Judge Glass," Chief Judge Jennifer Togliatti said. "This is a great opportunity, but we're going to miss her. She was a good fit for specialty courts."

The specialty courts for drug, drunken driving and competency cases require a judge with specific personality traits, including otherworldly patience.

In the drug and DUI courts, the focus is getting defendants into treatment programs and monitoring their progress toward recovery rather than locking them in jail. That approach goes a long way toward successful addiction recovery, and it also saves the county millions by steering addicts away from criminal court and jail.

One court official called Glass perfect for the job because she brought the right temperament.

"She had the ability to be compassionate but firm when needed," Michael Sommermeyer said, adding that the role of a specialty court judge is similar to a stern parent.

Picking a replacement who exhibits those traits will be in the hands of Togliatti and the Clark County District Court's executive committee.

Togliatti wouldn't say whether any current judges have lobbied to replace Glass in any of the specialty courts, which will continue one way or another.

One former judge, Jack Lehman, has offered to volunteer one day a week at the county's drug court, which he founded two decades ago.

"I'm ready to go," the 83-year-old said.

He said he wanted to give back to Nevada and Las Vegas, a state and a city he said were very good to him.

Togliatti said it would be premature to discuss Lehman's offer before the executive committee meets.

Glass also oversaw competency court, which plays an intricate role in many criminal cases, such as Dr. Dipak Desai's case stemming from a 2007 hepatitis C outbreak.

In competency cases, "continuity is really important because those cases can last for years," Deputy Public Defender Christy Craig said.

Before the competency court was created, there was no centralized record of whether a defendant was competent, which often led to repeat evaluations because defendants often have multiple cases before different judges.

Also, criminal defendants often languished in jail for months waiting for a mental health evaluation.

Competency court streamlined the process, Craig said.

Replacing Glass in the specialty courts, however, might be easier than overcoming the logistical shuffling created by her absence.

The court system just experienced a massive case reassignment that already has lawyers, parties, witnesses and jurors scrambling floor to floor, and in some cases from courthouse to courthouse, to find the right courtroom.

Glass' departure means another case reassignment while the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection picks her replacement.

The commission will review applications and background checks before whittling the list of hopefuls to three. The remaining candidates will undergo public interviews; then the governor will appoint one of them.

The executive committee meets Wednesday to discuss which current judges could be her replacement -- even temporarily -- on the specialty courts and how to best reassign her cases.

"The way we track cases is critical," Togliatti said of the overburdened court system. "It's a delicate model."

Contact reporter Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo @reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512. Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.