Former Justice O’Connor to advocate for merit selection of judges Tuesday at Nevada State Bar CLE seminar
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will deliver opening remarks Tuesday at a pro-Question 1 seminar titled “Selecting Nevada’s Judges: Protecting Impartiality and Ensuring Accountability.”
Sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Nevadans for Qualified Judges and the State Bar of Nevada, attorneys can register for the three-credit CLE seminar at the Nevada State Bar website. There is no cost.
O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court appointed by President Ronald Reagan, is a national advocate for merit selection of judges and is co-chairwoman of Nevadans for Qualified Judges.
The seminar, moderated by Boyd School of Law Professor Jeff Stempel, will be held 1 to 4:45 p.m. at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Stan Fulton Building.
Following a welcome and introduction from former Nevada Supreme Court Justice William Maupin, the first half of the seminar – Concerns about Judicial Elections – will be addressed by keynote speaker Bert Brandenburg of the Justice at Stake Campaign. Panelists include Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, Washoe County District Judge David Hardy, and Tami Cowden of Greenberg, Traurig, LLP.
O’Connor speaks after the break at about 2:45 p.m., in a session titled Benefits of Merit Selection, Retention Elections, and Performance Evaluation. Ruth MacGregor, former Arizona Supreme Court justice, will deliver the keynote. Afterwards, local attorneys will address the issue of merit selection. They are Cam Ferenbach, president of the State Bar of Nevada; Kathleen England, member of the Nevada Supreme Court’s Article 6 Commission; and David Grundy, a former member of the Commission on Judicial Selection.
A Q&A session from roughly 4:15 to 4:45 is on the agenda.
Local attorneys are in for another high profile visit Oct. 22 when former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens speaks at a New Admittees and Judges Mixer sponsored by the Clark County Bar Association. Click here for the story.
