Elvis, Harry, Landra, the Supremes bid Judge Nancy farewell

The scene is now locked in my memory. Harry and Landra Reid posing for photos with an Elvis impersonator. The senator his usual wan self. The Elvis impersonator slightly orange in his skin color. Landra looking pink and healthy despite the ghastly car accident in March when her back, neck and nose were broken.

Not far away were seven Nevada Supreme Court justices, gathered not to ponder, but to party.

The massive backyard of John and Rene O'Reilly's house was packed with lawyers and judges, and judicial candidates were bouncing from one prospective voter to another.

If I didn't know, I would have presumed the party was to honor a retiring U.S. Supreme Court justice.

But no, Thursday's party was for a retiring Las Vegas justice of the peace, someone slightly lower on the judicial totem pole.

Judge Nancy Oesterle.

Guess it says a lot about her that a thousand people showed up, including the Reids, who aren't known as party animals, whether in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas or Searchlight.

Also seen mingling in the crowd were Lady Gaga, the Blues Brothers and Kid Rock (or at least folks who looked like them).

As retirement parties go, this one had oomph, especially since Oesterle will work until the end of the year.

In January, Oesterle told me she was retiring after 20 years on the bench in Justice Court. She had decided not to run for the Nevada Supreme Court and told me at the time that she wanted to enjoy life more without the stress of working. Three friends had recently died.

The first woman appointed to the Las Vegas Justice Court in 1990, Oesterle never drew an opponent.

Anyone with sense would know that running against her would have been a waste of time. She is popular in the legal community. Her 15 years on the television show "Law For The Layman" gave her name identification among voters that couldn't be bought. The "Keys to the Courthouse" program she created introduced countless elementary school students to the criminal justice system and a memorable and smelly holding cell.

She never ran for District Court, because the job in Justice Court provided more flexibility for her community activities, whether it was organizing doctors-lawyers softball games to raise money for charity, going to elementary schools for mock trials, or serving as president of the State Bar of Nevada.

When Chief Supreme Court Justice Ron Parraguirre read the proclamation declaring Oesterle "has brought honor to the judiciary of Nevada," it rang true.

In her heart and in her actions, Oesterle remains the UNLV cheerleader she once was, crackling with enthusiasm, a bit of a diva with the ability to promote her causes and a rapid-fire speech pattern that made everyone wonder: When does she breathe?

Her friend Washoe County Judge Janet Berry said when they met in the early 1990s, Oesterle had "much taller hair, much shorter skirts and wore much more make-up, but we all did."

By retiring at age 53, Oesterle has time to write a book about the law, maybe get involved in another television show, and see Paris and London for the first time with her boyfriend, Steve Dixon, a retired health care administrator.

The story is told that when Oesterle first joined the Justice Court bench as one of five judges, Judge Jim Bixler joked, "We waited a long time for this court to have its own cheerleader."

Turned out, the woman who started as a cheerleader in the sixth grade never left that part of her persona behind. She was a cheerleader at UNLV, and she went on to become a cheerleader for the community, for education and for the law.

She also throws a heck of a party .

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.