We previously posted about the Clark County election results, but neglected to comment about what may be the biggest upset to come out of this election: Judge Jessie Walsh remains on the bench. Now, let's not get off on a Halverson rant here, Judge Walsh is not (and will never be) as bad as "the great one." However, the fact remains that Judge Walsh was the only judge to score below a 50% retention rating in the Judging the Judges poll (available here as a PDF) and survive the election.
(To be fair, Judge The Hut was, shall we say, indisposed, and Judge Gates didn't bother to run.)
However, common wisdom seems to be that the Judging the Judges poll is what governs the general public's opinion of our judiciary. With no party affiliation listed on the ballot, how else is the general public deciding whether to retain (or replace) these individuals? How is it that an incumbent Judge so poorly rated as Walsh is able to maintain her seat on the bench? Is it because it was easier to draw a mustache and horns on Bill Kephart's signs? Here's a theory:
Anything the public heard concerning judges this election year was focused on one person: Liz Halverson. The bar for judicial ineptness has officially been raised. Short of being an absolute unbearable tyrant in the courtroom, the public now thinks: "Meh, how bad can she be? At least she's not like that fat lady."
All the incumbent judges who retained their seats in this election should send Halverson a big box of Krispy Kremes in gratitude. Without her, the public may have been a bit more critical of our currently-seated judicial jockeys. Or, maybe, Walsh just isn't that bad of a Judge. We're interested to hear your take on what happened, sound off in the comments.
Dear Joe Law,
ReplyDeleteIt would be prudent to avoid using the blog as a sounding board for direct attacks on people.
Doing so is a particularly risky manuver, considering you appear to be in law school.
Judge Walsh is a great Judge. She gets negative reviews because she is one of the few judges not afraid to grant Summary Judgment, and she does it equally for the defense and the plaintiffs. People on the wrong side of one of these motions ends up not liking her. It's really that simple.
ReplyDeleteYou should do a write-up on the "election funds" set up by the insurance industry to get Kephart elected. Very blatant who wanted him elected.
Or maybe a write-up on Judge Cadish's opponent, Ben Childs, and his past activities like (allegedly) fighting another attorney outside the courthouse, or (allegedly) throwing a client down a flight of stairs. That would be good reading.
puhhleeze people. It's a blog, a gossip blog. I don't particularly dislike Walsh but that's because I've been on the right side of some of her "fearless" rulings (aka she didn't read the motions and went off the law clerk's guess?). I do think her legal acumen is somewhat lacking.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am glad that Kephart didn't get elected, he seems a bit unhinged (probably would have fit in well on the bench though).
I don't think the blog author is in law school, at least I hope not.
I do think the new editor is still in law school because otherwise I do not believe that he would have covered an email on the Boyd infoserve in such detail. In law school (I went to Boyd) I found people pining for outlines sad, but as an attorney I don't care.
ReplyDeleteRegardless if he is or not, it is a gossip type blog and if the guy's not scared of being found out and blackballed in Vegas, he should do whatever he wants to do. Otherwise I think it would be prudent to avoid personal attacks unless it's a mutually disgusting party such as Halverson.
"[R]isky maneuver." "[B]lackballed." In response to this milquetoast blog? Whatever happened to freedom of expression? Gotta love the 'circle the wagons' mentality expressed in the comments. This is the same attitude that has made Las Vegas such a legal backwater. Give 'em hell Joe Dubya! Don't be cowed.
ReplyDeletei would believe that Judge Walsh kept her seat because her opponent was a worse selection than her. His past ethical decisions have been the topic of much debate. It is scary to think he would have been voted to the bench. Overall, this particular race illustrated everything that is wrong with the Nevada Judicial Selection process.
ReplyDelete