DISTRICT COURT 14

Opponents vying for District Judge Donald Mosley's bench in Department 14 cite his ethical troubles as reasons to bring in someone new with higher standards and more integrity.

Various news agencies have questioned his ethical standards. And he was criticized for "loaning" $10,000 of unspent campaign contributions to a girlfriend, who acknowledged she never paid him back.

Mosley, 61, also refused to recuse himself from a domestic violence case involving Judge Steven Jones, even though Jones at one time was a part-time employee for Mosley.

Mosley also has been involved in a years-long and highly publicized custody battle.

Mosley's opponents noted his past troubles as reasons to challenge him in the nonpartisan District Court race.

Challenger Chris Davis, a deputy district attorney for North Las Vegas, said Mosley's behavior has contributed to the court system's poor reputation.

"I have become tired of the way the courts have been treated in the media," said the 48-year-old Davis. "They have become a national joke. It's scandal after scandal."

Mosley is not the least bit surprised to hear his opponents bring up past ethical problems. It is something he expects.

"Generally speaking it's much ado about nothing," Mosley said. "It's all ancient history. It's something my opponents have brought up regularly during the 1996 and 2002 election. It's become an expectation on my part. I know it's coming."

Mosley said much of the fodder used by opponents is hand-fed to them by the mother of his son.

Mosley moved to Las Vegas in 1970 from Tulsa, Okla., and was first elected to District Court in 1983. He served as chief judge four times during his lengthy tenure on the bench.

Mosley oversees criminal matters and has noted a massive jump in gang-related crimes and auto theft during his tenure.

"I'm known as being a judge who is hard on criminals, and that is well-deserved, and it's something that is important," he said. "You need to take a hard line on criminals."

In the Review-Journal's most recent Judicial Performance Evaluation survey, Mosley received a 56 percent retention rating.

Davis, 48, is a sixth-generation Nevadan who has worked for the U.S. District Court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said he also prides himself on working only for private firms with the highest ratings.

"I believe in public service, and I believe as an attorney I have an obligation to help the public good," he said. "I have maintained the highest legal and ethical standards in the community."

Clark County Deputy Public Defender Laurie Diefenbach's name might not be as familiar to voters as her opponents. Her heavy caseload representing clients who cannot afford private attorneys requires her to work more than 40 hours a week.

That leaves little time for campaigning. Diefenbach calls her effort a "low-key, grass-roots campaign" because of the time restrictions.

But she believes she can win the race. Diefenbach, who once won election to the Carson City School Board spending $5 on the campaign, said she spends her free time walking door-to-door visiting voters.

"I get a very good reception," said Diefenbach, 53. "Very few people have said, 'Sorry, I am voting for Judge Mosley. Go away.' Mostly it's 'Are you running against Mosley? We need someone new.' "

Diefenbach sees the need to expand the court's drug and mental health programs.

She said the court's most-populated mental health facility is the Clark County Detention Center.

"Rather than saying to people with mental health problems who self-treat with drugs, 'You're bad,' provide proper drugs, proper training and proper supervision. Go that route," she said. "Expand parole and probation so cases are manageable, and they are able to help integrate these people into responsible members of society."

Diefenbach has 12 years of experience as an attorney in Nevada, working as a solo practitioner and spending the past seven years in the county's public defender's office.

Contact reporter Adrienne Paker at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.