Attorney challenges veteran judge Assad in municipal court race

George Assad is one of the toughest judges in Las Vegas Municipal Court.

He champions victims in domestic violence cases and gives the harshest sentences he can when it comes to punishing their abusers.

Assad enjoys the support of every law enforcement organization in the city and easily won his primary election against five challengers in April, outdistancing his closest opponent by about 4,000 votes.

That challenger, Heidi Almase doesn't have a record to run on, so she did the next best thing: She based her campaign on attacking Assad.

She says his temperament is all wrong for a judge, that he can be rude, abrupt, inpatient.

Almase, a contract attorney who represents defendants in Municipal Court, also points out the fact that Assad consistently earns the lowest marks in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's biennial Judging the Judges survey.

And while this next fact has nothing to do with Assad's judicial competence, being the father of the man accused of stealing $1.5 million in a brazen armed robbery at the Bellagio can be seen only as a political liability.

THE CANDIDATES

Voters have a clear choice next month as these two candidates could not be more different save for one important fact: They both were raised in modest families and had to struggle financially to earn their law degrees.

Assad bused and waited tables in Las Vegas restaurants before moving into the casino side of the city's hospitality industry working the blackjack and craps tables in order to pay his way through the University of San Diego School of Law.

Almase's determination was evident when the then-recently divorced mother of an infant became one of the first to attend Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

But Assad is a conservative Republican; Almase a Democrat who sees her position as a defense attorney more as a calling than a job.

And while it is important to point out judicial races in Nevada are non­partisan, both candidates will depend on their respective political philosophies to see justice done.

Assad will use the letter of the law and will be more prone to ensure society nets its pound of flesh. Almase will be a tad more liberal, but not, she said, at the expense of the victim.

Not surprisingly, they share the same goal when it comes to the end result: protecting the community.

They just differ on how to get there.

ASSAD: RUDE OR NO-NONSENSE?

This leads to the main question of this election: Is Assad a rude judge or a tough-minded judge who has little patience for repeat offenders?

The answer to that question is easy for Almase to answer. Assad's perceived courtroom demeanor is the sole reason she targeted the judge in deciding which of three municipal judgeships who would pursue.

"When I saw the kind of conduct and mean-spirited treatment of others that goes on in Judge Assad's courtroom, that's when I decided to run," she said.

Almase has only had one case against Assad and made it clear her criticism is not personal. "I have no ax to grind. I've been provided audiotapes of his courtroom antics."

And Assad is no stranger to courtroom controversy. In 2003, shortly after his appointment to the bench in a unanimous City Council vote led by Mayor Oscar Goodman's endorsement, Assad ordered a woman who had no case before the court jailed. She had appeared on behalf of a boyfriend to tell the judge he did not have the money owed for a fine and fees.

Assad ordered his marshal to detain the woman until the boyfriend showed up.

Forced by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline to apologize in a written letter to the woman, Assad did so only after the Nevada Supreme Court sent out a second notice ordering the apology.

The incident wasn't high-handedness -- or a disregard for the Constitution as Almase believes -- simply a mistake and one that was not willful, Assad said.

Assad said he has not repeated such mistakes.

However, 69 percent of 115 attorneys who rated him in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's biennial Judging the Judges survey said Assad should not be retained. His score was the worst among all Clark County judges.

The survey was formally co-sponsored by the Nevada State Bar, but that relationship ended a few years ago.

Assad said he was stunned to receive the low score, saying defense attorneys hold him in high regard and they are common contributors to his political campaigns. He believes the survey is not inclusive enough and is too easily manipulated by attorneys with hidden agendas.

"I'd like to see police officers participate, witnesses, even staff, the people who are in court all the time and know better than anyone how I do my job," he said, suggesting that voters might not put much stock in the survey. "I got a lot of votes and I had a lot of opponents."

ALMASE: LEGAL EXPERIENCE

While Assad has been a judge for nearly a decade, Almase was appointed a pro tem justice of the peace in January and an alternate municipal judge in Henderson the next month.

However, she is no novice to the courtroom and she practices in more areas of the law than many attorneys.

In addition to criminal defense work, Almase has represented clients in divorce cases and she has argued appeals before the Nevada Supreme Court.

A lifetime Las Vegan who said she has always harbored a desire to give back, she has logged more than 500 hours of pro bono legal assistance.

And while acknowledging she doesn't have Assad's track record on the bench, she promises she will treat every person who appears in her courtroom with respect.

"You can do justice and not be mean-spirited," she said. "I know Judge Assad has a reputation for being tough on crime, but he's tough on everybody."

MUNICIPAL COURT JOB

Municipal Court judges earn nearly $150,000 in each of the six years they serve.

For that figure they preside over misdemeanor cases ranging from traffic offenses to the more serious domestic violence and drunken driving cases.

Municipal judges also handle specialty courts.

Assad established the first municipal drug court program in Clark County. Drug courts are widely considered the most effective way to keep nonviolent drug offenders out of jail and off drugs.

Early voting begins Saturday and ends June 3. The general city election is June 7.

Contact reporter Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.