Inside Politics - March 2004

Nevada Supreme Court Races

Promise to be Competitive

by Michael Sullivan

At least 21 states in America hold elections for their top judicial offices, usually called the Supreme Court (as it is here in Nevada). Over the years there has been great debate on whether it’s a good idea to elect people to these offices.

The people trying to make these into appointed positions argue that if judges are elected to office, they will be beholden to someone, because they have to raise money to campaign and get word of their candidacy out. How could they then be impartial if these contributors come before them? Still others don’t want to give up the people’s right to choose their judiciary and have the ability to throw them out of office if they don’t do a good job.

While this issue isn’t likely to be decided in Nevada anytime soon, it is something to keep in mind as we begin what in the past have been some of the nastiest political races in state history.

More than a decade ago, Justice Miriam Shearing ran a "spirited" campaign against then-district court judge Charles Thompson. The race was marked by some of the strongest television advertisements on record, with Thompson accusing Shearing of neglecting to sentence a brutal child molester and killer. The late Justice Myron Leavitt also ran aggressive campaigns against Justice Bob Rose before finally winning a seat on the bench when the court was expanded in 1998.

With Leavitt gone and Shearing set to retire, three seats will be up for grabs during the 2004 election season (Chief Justice Deborah Agosti’s post is also up for re-election). Most of the names currently surfacing are from Southern Nevada. Justice of the Peace Doug Smith announced he would challenge Agosti back in December. District Court Judges Michael Douglas, Mike Cherry and Cynthia Dianne Steel have also been mentioned, probably for either the Leavitt or Shearing seat.

From Northern Nevada, a well-respected District Court member, Judge James Hardesty, recently announced he would run for Shearing’s position. Tahoe entertainment attorney John Mason is the only other candidate from Northern Nevada who has formally expressed an interest in running for the court.

Aside from the Shearing/Thompson race in 1992, where both candidates raised hundreds of thousands of dollars (Shearing reported raising a record $750,000), Nevada Supreme Court candidates don’t collect much in the way of contributions. Most candidates end up putting in quite a bit themselves (Shearing spent $500,000 of her own money).

The races are difficult because candidates have to campaign all over the state, but don’t usually have the budget for large television buys and print advertising campaigns. And while the positions are supposed to be non-partisan, party affiliation does play a silent role in most of the races.

One factor that has contributed heavily in recent contests has been the judicial ratings conducted by the Nevada Bar Association and reported annually in the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. Sitting judges can use their positive rating like a stamp of approval, or they can be subject to strong attacks if they receive a poor rating in the survey. Both Leavitt and Justice Nancy Becker were highly ranked Clark County judges when they announced they would seek Supreme Court seats in 1998. Leavitt got no opposition and Becker drew an opponent who never spent a dime campaigning.

It is unclear at this time whether the governor will appoint a successor to Leavitt, who passed away last month. Clark County Judge Lee Gates has expressed an interest in being appointed to that post, which would make him the first African American to serve on the court.

The person being appointed to Leavitt’s seat would then have to run for election to the post in this November’s general election, and again two years later when Leavitt’s natural term would have expired. That could be seen as a drawback for many possible contenders.

The issue of whether judges should be elected will go on, but it shouldn’t affect what will likely be some very competitive Supreme Court races this fall.

Michael Sullivan
Michael Sullivan is president of Knight Consulting, a Southern Nevada government affairs firm.