Motion Denied

Yesterday, Clark County commissioners voted 5-2 and denied the Clark County court system's request to hire former state Assemblyman Morse Arberry as a lobbyist. From the LV Sun:

Some commissioners said they opposed the courts or anyone else using public funds to hire a lobbyist for the state Legislature.

Other commissioners said they didn't mind the court system having a lobbyist but opposed hiring a former assemblyman without a "cooling-off" period. Arberry resigned his post in the Assembly last week.

In the end, only commissioners Tom Collins and Lawrence Weekly voted in favor of the court's request.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid came down on both Chief Judge Arthur Ritchie and Chief Judge Ann Zimmerman for their rather simplistic "because I can" arguments ... right before the democratic candidate for governor apparently turned into a racist:

Former state Sen. Joe Neal came to the meeting to speak in support of Arberry, but was told by Reid that he wouldn't be allowed to speak until the public comment period.

“I have tremendous respect for you, but I can’t offer a senator a special privilege. This isn’t a public hearing,” Reid said.

When the time for public comment arrived nearly two hours later, Neal got up and condemned the commissioners, saying they neglected to consider all of the facts involved in the decision and discriminated against Arberry, who is black, because of his race.

“You didn’t take it into consideration because he was a black person, and you did not allow me to come up and speak because I sit there as a black person,” Neal said.

Playing the Ace of Race on a gubernatorial candidate ... priceless.

Looking past the county commissions' clear racial bias (if you can), why does the court need a lobbyist? Remember: "because they can" is not an appropriate answer.

(LV Sun)

RJC Snitches Get Stitches

Apparently, the higher-ups didn't appreciate the RJ's recent article concerning flaws with the RJC security camera system. So, what's a whistleblower to do when the passive-aggressive emails start flying? Send the emails to the RJ, of course.

It all started when Chief District Judge T. Arthur Ritchie Jr. "chastised" Judge Susan Johnson - who chairs the courthouse security committee - for talking to the RJ about the camera issue:

"I assume you meant well, but you were specifically told that you were not authorized to address this issue for the court," Ritchie wrote. "I am disappointed that you would take it upon yourself to address this issue in this way. ... We will see whether your approach makes this better or worse for the court."

Uh oh. Chief Ritchie is "disappointed," but SJ wasn't about to take Ritchie's little lecture lying down:

Johnson responded that, "You never informed me I was not authorized to address this issue for the court. Your response was ... that you would 'handle this,' which you did not do. Further, while I respect your role as chief judge, you have no authority to instruct me or any district judge that he or she cannot speak to the media without your consent."

Snap! Beautiful and feisty - how bout them apples, Chief?

Next, Chief Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman jumped into the "Reply All" pool to defend her fellow Chief:

"I believe that your interview further compromised security at the RJC by exposing potential weaknesses to those who may wish to do harm to our judges and/or the public at the RJC," Zimmerman wrote [to Johnson]. "I believe you had good intentions, but the outcome is otherwise."

"[T]he outcome is otherwise?" That can't be right, can it?

Judge Doug Smith then decided to go ALL CAPS on everyone's ass:

"In the future, please do not disclose our safety to the newspapers. I don't feel comfortable with that disclosure."

When one judge [taking bets on who] responded with a simple "?", Smith wrote back in capital letters: "THIS IS IN REGARDS TO THE NEWSPAPER PERSON ALLOWED INTO OUR BACK OFFICES AND THE BAD PRESS WE RECEIVED. WHO APPROVED THE RELEASE(?)"

CALM DOWN DOUG. THE PUBLIC CLEARLY COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT JUDICIAL ELECTIONS - ANY PRESS IS YOUR FRIEND.

Judge Cadish also had some thoughts:

"I too was extremely disturbed to read in the paper about exactly what cameras around the courthouse don't have the view they should have because they're blocked by trees or otherwise out of position. I do think it can easily put us at risk."

By "us," Cadish of course meant all the employees and visitors in the RJC, right? She wasn't just talking about the robed ones who already have private security guards ... right?

SJ defended herself by noting that by speaking to the RJ she "in fact, made the story less negative than it would have been."

We look forward to the next email thread from the judges explaining how organizing a witch hunt instead of just fixing the security problem made the story more positive.

(LVRJ; Thanks Tipsters!)

What to do when there are "no estoppels" and "no help"

You lawyers may not want to discuss it, may just want to sweep it all under the rug and not deal with it, but there are "sex issues" in the Courts. What are the "sex issues"? I have no idea. But the conspiracy theorist who runs thetruthaboutsexissues.com does. If only she'd actually tell us what those issues are.

Readers, meet Joan Baumeister. Ms. Baumeister is leading her own personal crusade to defeat Judge Ann Zimmerman and District Attorney David Roger in the 2010 election. Why? After watching several of her videos on youtube (Baumeister page available here), we still have no idea.

Ms. Baumeister has posted several videos in which she has a "Conversation with America" and discusses "what they do to girls". What do they do to girls? We're not quite sure, but it has something to do with Ms. Baumeister's displeasure with her experience in Las Vegas Justice Court, where she states there is "no process, no plaintiff, no evidence" and that she "was brought to the Court to suffer abuse". She claims to have been "the victim of three secret hearings and two false imprisonments".

Specifically, Baumeister complains that she had no way out, "no estoppels and no help" against Judge Zimmerman's alleged crimes. What crimes? After watching the videos, we have no idea, but Baumeister explains that "no one believed me because she is a judge" and the U.S. District Court dismissed her civil rights complaint (2:05-cv-00578-KJD-GWF) without hearing its merits. As for David Roger, Baumeister claims that he "terrifies women" and that the "Prosecutor has become a persecutor" (her case against D.A. Roger, A523434, was dismissed by then Judge Siatta).

Feeling left out because you're not a judge or a D.A. and you want to know what you do to girls? Don't worry, she also has a message for you, Nevada Legal Community:

Rumor Monday

We are looking for confirmations/denials regarding the following rumors, feel free enlighten us in the comments:

• Rumor #1: The Heavy Hitter may have just gone through a round of layoffs. (We have a hard time believing this one, as it appears that plaintiff's firms are doing just fine in this economy.)

• Rumor #2: The traffic ticket busting firms in town may be planning to finance a campaign against Chief Judge Ann Zimmerman when she comes up for election. Apparently, the mystery candidate being touted has plenty of money on his own, and is expected to be well-backed besides. This likely has to do with the Judge's rumored smack-down on ticket-busting firms.

• Rumor #3: According to an anonymous commenter, the KKBRF - GT merger is officially off. The same commenter adds that one KKBRF litigation partner and two transactional partners are leaving to start their own firm (these attorneys, apparently, were not part of KKBRF's recent bloodbath). Also, KKBRF's governmental affairs group may or may not be leaving in April, depending on which anonymous commenter you believe.

Let us know if you have any information.

UPDATE

• Rumor #4: Jones Vargas has recently rescinded offers to its 2L summer associates. This has been confirmed. We are awaiting a response from Jones Vargas with details. Apparently, summers received a letter in late February indicating that, because of the poor economy, the firm was withdrawing their offers of employment. Nice of them to leave their summers with plenty of time to find alternative placements. Very classy, JV.

Thanks, tipsters!

Anyone In The Market To Buy A Pink House?

Could this be the end of the line for Las Vegas "ticket busting" law firms? Rumor has it that our new Chief Judge, T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr. Ann Zimmerman, will be raising the attorney traffic rates for Justice Court to be more in line with the (grab your ankles) Municipal Court rates. The rumor goes on to say that Judge Ritchie Zimmerman is also looking to make sure that everyone gets traffic school and/or points, whether or not they have an attorney.  It is additionally rumored that the Judge has voluntarily placed a governor on his her own vehicle, capping the speed at 35 mph, just to show how serious he she is about speeding. (OK, we made that last part up)

Apparently, Judge Ritchie Zimmerman isn't too keen on the idea of law firms in town making money off of speeders. We feel it is certainly a bold move ... one which will virtually assure that his her stint as Chief Judge will be a one-term deal. After all, for more than a few firms here in town, traffic tickets are their bread and butter, and we can't see how this move will win him her over with voters, of whom many take advantage of the fact that they can avoid points by using an attorney.

What say you, commenters? Is it fair that attorneys get special treatment when it comes to traffic fines? Is it too pretentious to use both a first initial and the surname suffix "Jr." in your name? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Edit: Judge Ritchie has nothing to do with Justice Court, the call is coming down from Judge Zimmerman. As the kids say: our bad. You may, however, continue to discuss the pretentiousness of Judge Ritchie's name, if you wish.