DISTRICT COURT DEPARTMENT 25

As the days tick off toward the November election, the race for District Court Department 25 becomes increasingly unusual.

Candidates in other races air commercials ripping opponents and send scathing fliers to undecided voters. But not attorneys Kathleen Delaney and Susan Scann, who face each other for the newly created court.

"I say this so often I even get tired of hearing it, but voters cannot lose in this race," said Delaney, 43.

"You've got two qualified candidates, two people who can do the job," said Scann, 62.

Both attorneys have longed to run for District Court judge. It just so happens they picked the same year and the same department.

Delaney, who received her law degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, deliberately bounced around into varying areas of law to prepare herself for a judgeship. She has practiced civil, criminal and administrative law, most recently as the senior deputy attorney general.

"When you are in my career path, that is the ultimate pinnacle of public service, to be a judge," Delaney said. "If you've practiced enough to feel you can do the job well, that is what you aspire to do."

Delaney emphasized that she may not have Scann's length of experience -- 32 years -- but noted her experience is broader based.

If elected, Delaney said she will be "fair, consistent and reasoned" on the bench. Off the bench, she has a list of priorities to improve access to the court system and expedite cases.

Noting that legislators approved the new department to address heavy case loads, Delaney said she set a personal goal to reduce case loads by 25 percent.

She plans to make herself available to serve as a settlement judge for other courts, which would expedite cases and therefore reduce the loads.

"If we can get other cases resolved that weren't resolved because the parties haven't gotten together, that would be a very valuable service," she said.

Scann has experience litigating in District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Justice Court; she also has served as a pro tem judge in Las Vegas Municipal Court. She opted to run for judge because she believes her experience qualifies her and she now has the time because her children are grown.

"While they were growing up, my focus was on them and being a lawyer; that takes up all your time," said Scann, who received her law degree from California Western School of Law. "I decided I better do it or I'm not ever going to do it."

Scann shares Delaney's desire to reduce the court's case load, but she also has an interest in finding solutions other than jail time for the homeless and mentally ill.

"Half the people arrested for vagrancy were mentally ill," Scann said, referring to the defendants who appeared before her in Municipal Court. "People are without resources so they end up in jail."

Scann said she too has an interest in volunteering as a settlement judge.

"You do that early on in a case before discovery gets done, because that's a huge expense, in an effort to get the parties together to evaluate what the case really is," she said.

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