Nevada judge who inspired Reba McEntire movie makes filing tied to disciplinary case

A rural Nevada judge facing a disciplinary case has asked the state Supreme Court to clarify whether or not the state attorney general’s office must provide a lawyer to a judge in her position.

District Judge Kimberly Wanker was the inspiration for a Reba McEntire Lifetime movie entitled “The Hammer,” which is the real-life judge’s nickname.

She is a circuit judge who hears cases in Nye and Esmeralda counties and has been on the bench since 2011.

The complaint against Wanker was filed by First Assistant Attorney General Craig Newby, according to the judge’s July 16 Supreme Court filing, which does not disclose what led to the complaint.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to comment.

“I have nothing to hide,” Wanker said when reached by phone, but she declined to comment due to the case’s current confidential status.

In a follow-up conversation, Wanker said she could provide a reporter with “a Pulitzer Prize rendition of Nye County” and might be willing to share information about other subjects if the reporter did not write this story.

Although it’s unclear what led to the complaint, Wanker and the attorney general’s office were previously at odds in the case of Esmeralda County Sheriff Nicholas Dondero.

The attorney general’s office attempted to have Dondero removed from office, arguing that he was legally disqualified due to a 2007 domestic violence conviction.

After Wanker denied a motion for summary judgment, the attorney general’s office appealed her ruling, asking the Nevada Supreme Court to direct Wanker to grant the motion and order Dondero removed.

The Supreme Court ruled in the attorney general’s favor in April and found Wanker had “manifestly abused (her) discretion.”

Wanker said in her recent filing that she received a letter from the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline on June 23, stating that the commission had enough evidence to require her response to the complaint.

The judge reached out to the Nevada attorney general’s office and asked for legal representation. In her case, that meant conflict counsel since the attorney general’s office had filed the complaint, she wrote.

According to Wanker, the attorney general’s office has taken the stance that state law does not allow it to represent a judge or find another attorney for a judge in commission proceedings.

The judge has previously been disciplined by the judicial discipline commission.

She was publicly reprimanded in 2016 after she denied due process to a man she held in contempt and sentenced to seven days in jail and a $500 fine, according to commission records. The judge also failed to issue custody and visitation orders for over a year after holding hearings, the commission said.

Wanker agreed to apologize to the man and take judicial education courses.

Longtime attorney Dominic Gentile, who has represented judges in disciplinary cases, said he never heard a judge say the attorney general had a duty to represent them. He said Wanker may have found something that’s gone undetected.

“I’ve never heard anybody bring it up,” said Gentile. “To me, it is novel, it is unique and it is attempting to blaze a trail.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.