Las Vegas judge resigns after 25 years on bench

Longtime Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis has resigned.

Lippis, who served on the bench for 25 years, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in July that she would not seek re-election next year.

But Lippis has cut her current six-year term short. Her resignation took effect Sept. 21. Jeff Wells, assistant county manager for Clark County, said her term ends in January 2019.

Lippis emailed a brief resignation letter to Clark County commissioners and Chief Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure on Aug. 22, county records show.

“Please accept my gratitude for all of the assistance and professional courtesies you have extended to our court as we have all continued to work toward improving access to justice for the citizens of our community,” Lippis wrote.

She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Lippis was first elected in 1992 after working as a prosecutor and public defender for 10 years.

“I’ve loved every single minute of it, and I still do,” she told the Review-Journal in July.

At the time, Lippis did not give a specific reason for leaving her position but said, “You cannot buy time with the people that you love.”

Clark County commissioners are scheduled to discuss replacing Lippis at their Tuesday meeting.

According to their meeting agenda, commissioners can fill the vacancy by either appointment or a special election for residents in the Las Vegas township, which is slightly larger than the city of Las Vegas.

County spokesman Erik Pappa said appointing a new judge would require the county to form a screening committee. Applications for the seat would be taken, the committee would conduct interviews and make recommendations, and then commissioners would make their decision.

“Given the coming holidays and the difficulty of coordinating schedules, the board may not get anything until January,” Pappa said.

Four commissioners said Wednesday that they are leaning toward appointing a new judge. All said that special elections are expensive.

“We have done (appointments) before in many different cases in my 11 years (as a commissioner), and it’s worked out well,” Commissioner Susan Brager said.

Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Steve Sisolak both said they favor appointment.

Commissioner Larry Brown said he wants the court’s chief judge to weigh in on the process, but he also wants to fill the seat as quickly as possible to keep the judicial process moving.

“Today I would absolutely be leaning toward appointment to get someone in there quickly with the caveat they would acknowledge publicly that they are a caretaker who would handle the court for a year and then let others run for the full term,” Brown said. “If we appoint someone, and that person has the intention of running, we are basically providing them an advantage.”

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477- 3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.