Pickering formally joins Nevada Supreme Court

CARSON CITY -- New Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kris Pickering said Monday that judges must be above politics and make decisions that accurately reflect state laws and the constitution.

In the judiciary, Pickering, 56, said politics has no role to play.

If a decision is made fairly, then people "can accept it, win or lose," she said in a short speech after she was sworn into office by Chief Justice Jim Hardesty.

More than 300 people attended the investiture ceremony, including her longtime Las Vegas law partner, Steve Morris, who also has been her husband for the past 15 years.

Pickering is the fifth woman to serve as a Nevada justice and the only justice without previous experience as a district judge.

She replaces Bill Maupin, who decided not to seek re-election.

Pickering defeated Reno District Judge Deborah Schumacher in the general election by 3 percentage points.

Raised in Reno, Pickering has been a lawyer since 1977.

Final campaign expense reports are not due before Jan. 15. Pickering reported $951,000 in contributions at the close of the second reporting period in October. That included a $250,000 donation that Pickering and Morris made to her campaign.

Although she said Monday that justices need to put politics aside, Pickering was criticized for delivering a speech at a political rally for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Sept. 13 in Carson City.

An advisory opinion issued by the Nevada Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices in August called for judicial candidates not to speak at partisan political events.

Morris called Pickering the "intellectual heart" of their law firm and spoke of how much he already misses her.

"She will bring mature and thoughtful judgment to this court," he said.

Both Gov. Jim Gibbons and former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., also praised Pickering. Gibbons said she has his support and that of the people of Nevada.

Although Pickering smiled brightly when friends and members of her family placed the judicial robes on her body, she grew misty-eyed as she remembered her mother, who died when she was just 14.

Also sworn into office Monday was Justice Mark Gibbons, who was elected to his second, six-year term in November.

After a single term, Gibbons has become the senior member of the seven-member court.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.