Family Court selections

Aside from those who have had a case heard there -- and in those instances, opinions are rarely ambivalent -- public interest in the Family Division of the District Court is sporadic.

On Nov. 4 -- or sooner, with the trend toward early voting -- voters will select judges for 10 departments of the Family Court, half of which are occupied by incumbents. But most voters entering the voting booth won't have a clue who most of those 20 named candidates are.

Please: no coin-flipping. If you have no idea who these people are, please skip the race. But herewith, our modest attempt to cast some light through the gloom:

In Family Court, Department G, Amy Mastin challenges incumbent Cynthia "Dianne" Steel. Ms. Mastin has been practicing family law -- almost entirely divorce cases -- for 11 years. She acknowledges the incumbent "is unbiased and has integrity."

Judge Steel, who handles primarily abuse and neglect cases, had an acceptable 60 percent retention rating in the Review-Journal's most recent judicial survey. Ms. Mastin says she entered the race so Judge Steel would not go unopposed, but she offers no compelling reason to make a change. Voters can confidently retain hard-working Judge Cynthia "Dianne" Steel.

In Department I, 18-year family law attorney Greta Muirhead challenges eight-year incumbent Judge Cheryl Moss, whose judicial retention rating climbed barely above sea level this year, to a still unimpressive 52 percent.

Judge Moss offers: "I do what everyone does; if one side wants us to seal the case, we sign (the order)." She dismisses the survey of attorneys who have practiced in her court as "a way for attorneys to anonymously take pot shots at us," explaining her calendar is backed up because "every case is important to me."

Greta Muirhead, a fan of open courtrooms who has served as a child support hearing master since 2002, says Child Protective Services "needs to be more vigilant; I'm tired of their excuses."

Department I is not well-run. Perhaps Greta Muirhead can do better.

In Department J, 17-year attorney Kenneth Pollock is challenging incumbent Judge Lisa M. Kent -- formerly Lisa Brown -- whose retention rating in the Review-Journal's 2008 judicial survey was a bottom-dwelling 36 percent.

Judge Kent is personable and intelligent. But from her admission that she's often late to court, to her insistence that cases drag on in her court, she seems out of control and out of her depth -- a mismatch for the job.

Mr. Pollock, an alternative Municipal Court judge who took his law degree at the University of San Diego, has run unsuccessfully for two other judgeships. On the bench, he might find cause to revise his opinion that family law is "no different than any business dissolution." But his assertion that "we need more transparency" in Family Court is encouraging, as is his knowledge of the law and his determination to resolve cases more quickly.

In Department J, Kenneth Pollock is the better bet.

In Department K, 13-year family law practitioner Cynthia Giuliani, whose law degree is from Cleveland State University, is vying with North Las Vegas Alternative Municipal Judge Vincent Ochoa for the bench of Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio, who was properly denied re-election in August's primary.

This race offers county voters a candidate of unusual quality. Mr. Ochoa grew up in a ghetto in Flint, Mich., but managed to earn an economics degree from Michigan State and his law degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Fluent in both English and Spanish, Mr. Ochoa became the first Hispanic deputy attorney general for Nevada in 1979 and has served as a bilingual contract attorney for Juvenile Court for more than 24 years. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th and 6th Circuits. By qualification as well as wisdom and demeanor, towering head and shoulders above the field from the beginning of the primary season, Vincent Ochoa is the better candidate for Department K.

In Department L, Dawn Throne, a graduate of the law school of the University of Arizona, challenges incumbent Jennifer Elliott, who has a respectable 73 percent retention rating.

Before her election to the bench, Judge Elliott was a licensed marriage and family therapist who also served as a Supreme Court settlement judge and as a child custody evaluator for the Family Court. Judge Jennifer Elliott is in her area of expertise; she should be retained.

In Department N, 20-year family law practitioner Mathew Harter and former five-year public defender Gayle Beck Nathan -- both of whom have run for office unsuccessfully in the past -- vie for an open seat. Mr. Harter's vow to "sanction in a heartbeat" those caught lying in court is welcome. Ms. Nathan argues she has more experience in court, but Mathew Harter has the better temperament for this office.

Another open seat, Family Court Department O, has drawn local attorney Ron Israel, who serves as a judge pro tem and has run unsuccessfully for the District Court, and juvenile hearing master Frank P. Sullivan, whose law degree is from DePaul University in Chicago.

The energetic Frank Sullivan lives and breathes the Family Court, and there's little doubt he's serious when he says his guiding question is "What can I do to get Johnny home?" Frank Sullivan should make a fine Family Court judge.

Because of a shuffling of departments, Family Court Judge Sandra Pomrenze says she would not have been allowed to run for re-election as an incumbent at the expiration of her term in Department E, explaining why she is instead campaigning for the new bench in Department P, where she faces local attorney Jack Howard, who has served as a judge pro tem in the Boulder City Municipal Court.

That's unusual. But Judge Pomrenze, who has a strong business background and scores an acceptable 62 percent retention rating, is firm, competent and efficient, asserting "I'm not a warm and fuzzy judge; it was my goal to be consistent."

Sandra Pomrenze is the better choice in Department P.

In Department Q, local personal injury attorney Carl Piazza runs for an open seat against family law attorney Bryce Duckworth, who favors open courtrooms and insists families "need quick closure, not proceedings that drag on."

The relevant experience of Bryce Duckworth, who serves as chairman of the Family Law Executive Council for Nevada and who edited the second edition of the Nevada Family Law Practice Manual, make him a stronger choice for this post.

In Department R, local attorneys Bill Henderson and Chuck Hoskin compete. Mr. Henderson has served both as an alternative hearing master and as a truancy master. Mr. Hoskin has handled exclusively family law matters for the past 17 years and has served as a Family Court judge pro tem for the past six years.

We have recommended a vote for Mr. Henderson in the past. He would make a good judge. It's a close call, but Chuck Hoskin's demeanor and experience make him the better choice in this race.