CLARK COUNTY FAMILY COURT Q
Both candidates seeking the Family Court Department Q seat have many years of experience in family law and are touting it as they try to move from private practice to elected office.
Carl F. Piazza and Bryce C. Duckworth are running for office for the first time, and they both say that the overburdened Family Court division could operate more efficiently.
"People don't like to think about Family Court," Duckworth said. "You're primarily dealing with divorce, child custody issues.
"We have a tremendous caseload. We haven't kept pace with the growth in Clark County."
Piazza, too, referred to the "massive courtload" and the fact that it's mostly a thankless job.
"It's a gut-wrenching court," he said. "It's a situation where, no matter what the judge decides, somebody's going to walk out mad at them."
People don't have to be mad about slow court processes, though, both men said.
Piazza said his experience will allow him to judge which cases can be handled expeditiously and which ones will take longer, and he can schedule accordingly so that those with simple cases don't have to wait while more contentious ones are proceeding.
"There are certainly very contentious cases in the courtroom," Piazza said. "You know when you're sitting there if you've got one of those on your hands."
Duckworth said new judgeships will help -- Q is one of five positions being added to the Family Court division -- as will a new procedural rule that pushes judges to get more involved at the beginning of a case to help set its course.
He'd also like to see more mediation, because right now the only issue that must be mediated is child custody.
"Financial issues -- there is no requirement for mediation," he said. "We can increase the pace of cases by promoting mediation for all issues."
Duckworth graduated from the University of Utah law school in 1991 and is a partner in the firm of Smith, Larsen and Wixom.
Piazza graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1972 and has had his own law firm since 1985.
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
FAMILY COURT JUDGE DUTIES Family Court judges rule on domestic matters, including divorces and child custody cases. The court opened in 1993 as a division of Clark County District Court. Family Court judges serve six-year terms and are paid a base salary of $130,000 a year. Candidates who prevail in this year's election will be paid an annual base salary of $160,000. The judgeships are nonpartisan offices. REVIEW-JOURNAL
