2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: NORTH LAS VEGAS JUSTICE OF THE PEACE DEPARTMENT 1

Four attorneys with backgrounds in criminal law want to replace North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Stephen Dahl, who is not seeking re-election.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Will Ewing has the most experience. He has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1990 and has spent most of that time in the Clark County public defender's office.

Deputy District Attorney Michelle Anthony is the newest member of the Nevada bar in the group of candidates. The former middle school science teacher was admitted in 2006.

"I'm the only prosecutor that's running," Anthony said.

The candidate said she appears in Justice Court several times a week and knows she can handle the judicial position.

Both Ewing and Anthony are running for office for the first time.

Private attorneys Kalani Hoo and Jonathan MacArthur also are vying for the position in Department 1.

Hoo joined the Nevada bar in 1998. This is the first time he has run for office.

MacArthur made a failed bid for the Department 3 seat in 2008. He has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 2000.

"Voters should feel confident that if they elect me they will always receive my best efforts, not tailored to being re-elected but to achieving the right answer," MacArthur said.

The outspoken defense attorney has been at the center of several controversies in recent years.

In 2007, MacArthur lost his job as a substitute judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court after then-District Attorney David Roger complained about remarks on MacArthur's MySpace Web page.

Phil Pattee, spokesman for the State Bar of Nevada, said MacArthur has no public discipline on his record. Pattee said three grievances are pending against MacArthur, but the spokesman would not discuss details.

Last year, District Judge Susan Johnson held MacArthur in contempt and fined him $500 for refusing to defend a client at a criminal child abuse trial.

Johnson also ordered MacArthur to pay the district attorney's office $7,060 for the time prosecutors spent preparing for the trial, and she reported his conduct to the State Bar.

MacArthur later asked the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn the order, saying it violated his due process rights and was "unduly burdensome." The matter is on hold while the high court intervenes.

In December, the district attorney's office asked the bar to investigate whether MacArthur tried to bribe a witness in a criminal case to change his testimony. Prosecutors considered taking the allegations to a grand jury but chose instead to let the bar sort things out first.

"I am confident that any accusations made against me by political opponents in the past will be shown to have been false by any competent investigation," MacArthur said. "My actions have always been guided by a strong sense of personal integrity and a commitment to work in the best interests of my clients."

Ewing graduated in 1990 from the law school at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Later that year, he went to work for the Clark County public defender's office. He has lived in North Las Vegas since late 1990.

In 1992, Ewing went into private practice in Las Vegas, but he returned to the public defender's office the following year.

Ewing spent 10 years in the office's capital murder division, including three years as its chief. For the past eight years, he has been supervising and training young lawyers in the office.

He said the combination of his experience as a trial lawyer, as a community servant and as a father makes him the best candidate in the race.

Hoo graduated in 1998 from the California Western School of Law in San Diego and moved to Nevada, where he has worked in private practice for nearly 14 years. He primarily handles criminal cases.

He has worked as a substitute judge in North Las Vegas Justice Court for about a year. Since 2009, he has provided free representation for veterans through the U.S. Veterans Initiative.

Hoo said he is punctual and has a good judicial temperament. He also promised not to prejudge those who appear before him.

"I think I have the relevant experience, being a trial attorney, being in court every day," he added.

MacArthur received his law degree in 1999 from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He was hired by the Clark County public defender's office in August 2000 but opened his own firm the following year. He represents defendants in criminal cases.

MacArthur said he had a variety of reasons for deciding to seek a judicial position.

"I like to see government run properly," he said. "I'm sort of an idealist."

In 2006, MacArthur was appointed a substitute judge in Las Vegas Municipal Court. He held that position for a year.

Anthony graduated in 2005 from the California Western School of Law. She previously received a master's degree in science education from Montana State University in Bozeman and worked as a teacher in California.

After law school, Anthony worked in private practice for several months in Las Vegas, where she focused on medical malpractice defense. At the end of 2006, she began working in the criminal division of the Clark County district attorney's office.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264.