FAMILY COURT N

Three candidates who have experience as lawyers are vying for the opportunity to get behind the bench as a Family Court judge in the Department N race.

The newly formed seat pits two family law attorneys against each other. A third candidate, a nonpracticing lawyer who now works as a court administrator, also seeks the six-year term.

Mathew Harter, Gayle Beck Nathan and John Jensen threw their hats into the countywide race. All have run for public office before. Harter ran for positions as a Municipal Court, District Court and Family Court judge since 2000. He has never won, but said his seventh quest for office will be the charm.

"Lucky number seven. ... It's Vegas, baby," he said.

Beck Nathan ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat to represent Henderson in 2006. She had also ran for a Family Court judge seat in 2004. Jensen ran for a Family Court seat in 2006.

Both Beck Nathan and Harter said it's their recent experience in front of Family Court judges that qualify them to lead a courtroom.

Beck Nathan said she occasionally serves as a trial master, or fill-in judge.

"The judges have confidence in me and that's why they let me sit on the bench."

Harter also touted his 14 years as a family law attorney.

"I know the law. I know the process, I know the intangibles," he said.

Jensen, who hasn't practiced law since 1999 when he focused on civil litigation, said when he stopped practicing he found a "home" in Family Court. But Jensen said, similar to the other two candidates in the race, he's got the experience to do the job. Jensen served as a practicing lawyer for a decade in the Las Vegas Valley.

He has been the assistant clerk in Family Court since 2007. In that position, he said colleagues call him "Mr. Paperless" because he's pushed for eliminating paper files in the 8,000-square-foot clerk's office, and entering them into a database.

Jensen said if elected he'll lobby legislators to bolster laws against elder abuse.

"We don't make law, but we certainly can suggest and work with legislators to improve the system," Jensen said. "I think I'll have better success of doing that as a judge."

Harter said if elected, he will push for mandatory drug-testing on the court premises in cases in which child custody is an issue. He said as a lawyer, he sees countless incidents where people make excuses as to why they can't take a drug test, ranging from lack of transportation to the cost. He said such a test would be a hair or a urine test.

He said he gets annoyed when officials in the district attorney's office don't press charges against people who repeatedly fail drug tests.

"Last I checked, it's against the law to be on methamphetamine or crack cocaine."

Beck Nathan said if elected, she would institute an educational program for people who choose to represent themselves in the courtrooms, so they know what is and isn't allowed when acting as their own lawyers. She said she'd like to push for such a video on the process to be available on the Internet, or through the Self Help Center in the court.

"It's obvious a little educational system would be very beneficial for the entire system."

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.