EDITORIAL: For Las Vegas Justice Court, Department 12

In addition to deciding 15 District Court and 13 Family Court races, voters in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County will settle a single Justice Court campaign. Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan is seeking re-election to a second term in Department 12 against Marian Kahoiwai Kamalani.

Justices of the peace oversee small-claims civil cases and misdemeanors. They also sign search warrants, set bail and handle preliminary hearings and arraignments for felony cases.

In last year’s Review-Journal Judicial Performance Evaluation, 75 percent of attorneys said Judge Sullivan should be retained, the fifth-highest score in Las Vegas Justice Court. She practiced law for 17 years before taking the bench, including stints as an arbitrator and small claims referee. Judge Sullivan says the court’s high caseload is challenging, but she loves the job. The Las Vegas native has been an asset to the court.

Ms. Kamalani declined to meet with the Review-Journal’s editorial board to discuss her candidacy. She has practiced law for less than eight years. Ms. Kamalani lacks the legal experience necessary to be a good judge, and we question her fitness for the job and personal judgment because of how she conducted herself during a troubled relationship with former Clark County prosecutor David Schubert, who was sent to prison for a drug offense and died last year. Ms. Kamalani helped him flee to Mexico to avoid the start of his sentence before obtaining a protective order against him. The Review-Journal endorses Judge Diana Sullivan for Las Vegas Justice Court, Department 12.