FAMILY COURT K

Three family law attorneys are challenging embattled Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio, who faces accusations that he sexually harassed staff and had sex with his ex-wife's 14-year-old daughter.

Del Vecchio also is accused of taking nude photos of the girl, directing a bailiff with a part-time job with a commercial airline to get tickets for him and using racial slurs.

Del Vecchio, 51, who earned a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., was elected in 2000 after seven unsuccessful tries.

"Shouldn't a judge be someone kids look up to?" asked Ellen Bezian, who is challenging Del Vecchio for the seat in Department K.

The special prosecutor for the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline filed a 38-count complaint against Del Vecchio in February accusing him of, among other things, coercing his judicial assistant to have sex with him. The complaint states that Del Vecchio threatened to fire the judicial assistant, Rebeccah Murray, if she stopped having sex with him.

The judge has denied the accusations. In a response filed by his attorneys, Del Vecchio said he wanted to help Murray with her legal career. He said their relationship grew beyond "just being friends" to the point where Del Vecchio wanted to marry her, according to his response.

Del Vecchio, who declined comment for this story, faces a weeklong disciplinary hearing tentatively scheduled to begin on Aug. 4.

In the latest Review-Journal Judicial Performance Evaluation, 41 percent of attorneys surveyed felt Del Vecchio should be retained.

Bezian, 60, who primarily practices family law, is probably best known for defending Jessica Williams. Williams was convicted in 2001 of killing six youths after she drove onto the median of Interstate 15 where they were picking up trash as part of a county program. Williams used marijuana about two hours before the crash.

Bezian said she is the most well-rounded candidate running. Besides practicing family law for 10 years, Bezian taught English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and was a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines. She said she would use her position as a judge to help rebuild broken families that come before her. Cynthia Giuliani, who also focuses on family law, said she wants to bring consistency to Family Court rulings and wants families to have timely court hearings instead of waiting for two hours.

Giuliani, 41, wants a court where "all people have their facts applied to the law and go out feeling that justice has been served."

A graduate of City University of New York, Giuliani also said her experience as a mother of three helps her understand the daily issues families facing divorce and custody battles confront, such as scheduling and visitation matters.

Vincent Ochoa has been practicing law in Nevada for almost 30 years. A graduate of Notre Dame law school, the 55-year-old served on the state's welfare board and has been an alternate hearing master in Family Court since 1995.

Ochoa said he is the most experienced candidate running and has worked on abuse and neglect cases as well as juvenile offender cases.

"Family Court isn't just divorces and custody disputes," he said.

Ochoa said he would like to hear juvenile offender cases if he's elected. When he first started practicing in the juvenile court system, he said, the big crimes were stealing bicycles and lunch money. He now sees juveniles being charged with home invasions and drive-by shootings.

"Juveniles know they will get a slap on the wrist for offenses," he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.