Who's Going to Get Judge Sandoval's Spot?

With U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval stepping down from the bench for a rumored run for Governor against Jim Gibbons, names are starting to be tossed out for who should fill Sandoval's spot.

The RJ reports:

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice James Hardesty, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Washoe District Judge Brent Adams are among the names surfacing as possible replacements for U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval

. . . historically nominees to the U.S. District Court in Reno have come from Northern Nevada, which makes Hardesty and Adams -- both Democrats -- contenders for the job, said Carl Tobias, a former UNLV law professor now teaching at the University of Richmond School of Law in Virginia.

So let's get a list going and generate some odds:

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto
She’s Democrat and “effective and popular" according to Tobias. (RJ) Plus, President Obama seems to like the diversity angle with his judges and Cortez Masto would add some Latina flavor to the pale Nevada bench. Cortez Masto is also a native Nevadan. (AG website) She graduated Cum Laude from Gonzaga University School of Law, in Spokane, Washington in 1990. (AG website) Cortez Masto became Attorney General of Nevada in 2007 and worked as Assistant County Manager for Clark County for five years before that--giving her experience in the north and the south of the state.

Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid, Jr.
Magistrate Judge McQuaid has spent 13 yrs on the federal bench, appointed as a magistrate in 1996. (US Dist Ct) He received his law degree from Willamette University College of Law in 1971, and was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada that year. Before his appointment to the bench in 1996, Judge McQuaid was a partner in the law firm of Georgeson, McQuaid, Thompson & Angaran in Reno. Biggest hurdle: he’s a Republican in a Democratic Presidency, but based on seniority on the bench, he may be the man for the job. (US Dist Ct)

Magistrate Judge Valerie P. Cooke
Magistrate Judge Cooke has spent 10 yrs on the federal bench, appointed as a magistrate in 1999. (US Dist Ct) Prior to her appointment, she was a partner in the law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson, where she practiced to creditors’ rights in bankruptcy and commercial litigation. Judge Cooke received her J.D. degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Another plus in her column: She’s got legal legacy chops too since she’s a third generation Nevada lawyer. (US Dist Ct) Another plus for her: she’s a Democrat in a Democratic Presidency. McQuaid may have three years on her, but the politics of nominations may move her ahead of the candidates already sitting on the federal bench

Vito de la Cruz
De la Cruz is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Reno, Nevada. (Linked In) He's got the credentials, getting his J.D. in 1985 from the University of California-Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. (HP) Before becoming a Fed. PD, he worked for California Rural Legal Assistance in the area of employment discrimination and farm labor issues. Biggest plus for de la Cruz in the era of diversity: he is half American Indian (Yaqui)and half Chicano. Currently, there is only one Native American on the entire federal bench. (RJ)

Washoe County District Judge Brent Adams
Judge Adams has sat on the District Court of Washoe County since 1989 and has been elected three times without opposition. (Washoe Courts bio) According to his bio, he has consistently received among the highest retention ratings and judicial performance evaluations by the Washoe County Bar Association in biennial surveys since 1994. Judge Adams graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1974. Need more credentials? Judge Adams initiated the Washoe County Drug Court, is the founding presiding judge of the Washoe County Business Court and is Editor in Chief of the Nevada Civil Practice Manual and Forms (second and third editions).

Chief Justice James W. Hardesty
From the NV Supremes website: He’s a native Nevadan, born and raised in Reno. Got his JD from University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law in May 1975. Worked in private practice from 1975 through 1998, when he was elected District Court Judge in Washoe County District Court. In November 2004, Chief Justice Hardesty was elected as Supreme Court Justice for the Nevada Supreme Court, where he helped to implement the state's business courts.

So, who's it going to be readers?

Thurs Roundup

The FBI announced a major child prostitution bust with links to Las Vegas. At least 65 people have been arrested in Las Vegas as a part of Operation Cross Country, including pimps, prostitutes and people soliciting prostitutes. (Las Vegas Now)

Congratulations to District Judge Arthur Ritchie Jr. [pictured right], the presiding judge for Family Court, who has been named new Chief Judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court. (Review-Journal) In other court personnel news, congratulations to Edward A. Friedland, Esq. who has been selected to serve as the Court Executive Officer and Clerk of the Court of the Clark County Courts. (Harmful Error)

Parents whose 4 yr-old with a genetic disease died after they him left alone in their SUV are facing murder charges. (Review-Journal)

Before his Public Defender could talk to him, a man accused of robbing and beating Oakland Raiders receiver Javon Walker alleged in open court that police pressured his fiance to press charges against him in a domestic violence case. (Review-Journal)

The Nevada Supreme Court will take up the issue of whether term limits for state and local officials are constitutional. Under the current term limits, those who have served for 12 years in office can no longer run for office. (Review-Journal)

Las Vegas Police detectives have submitted a felony case against a well-known tag crew member to the district attorney’s office as a suspect in the graffiti outbreak at the Regional Justice Center. (Las Vegas Sun)

An editorial suggesting that a Clark County Baliff's tasering of a 23 yr-old audio-video technician for the entertainment/education of kids might not have been a good idea. (Las Vegas Sun)

After 25 years of serving the City of Henderson, Police Chief Richard Perkins is retiring. (Las Vegas Now)

In Carson City, an attorney with only 8 yrs of experience is running for a District Court Judicial seat, claiming the requirement that judicial candidates must be licensed for at least 10 years doesn't apply to him because he was licensed before the law went into effect. (Nevada Appeal)

Congress will not be rolling back the Internet gambling ban this year after a House committee deadlocked on an amendment to prevent federal agencies from completing the new rules until the agencies defined "unlawful Internet gambling." (Review-Journal)

An international defense contractor accused of attempting to bribe an Army office is on the loose after cutting his electronic monitoring bracelet and disappearing. Some Assistant U.S. Attorneys are questioning Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt's decision to allow the suspect to remain under electronic monitoring at a friend's home. (Las Vegas Sun)

In Ireland, the lethal toxin Ricin was found in the prison cell of a former Las Vegas poker dealer accused of conspiring with a Clare woman to kill her partner and his two sons. (Breaking News)

Knapp details the legal wrangling that led to a dismissal in the Gage trial while pointing out the absurdity of Gage's claim of being "vindicated" after 8 of 12 jurors in an earlier trial said he was guilty. (Las Vegas City Life)

District Judge Herndon unsealed the three year old malpractice suit against Judge Miley. (Review-Journal)

Finally, Congratulations to Las Vegas lawyer Aaron D. Lovaas who has been named by Mountain States Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top business litigators under 40 in the state of Nevada. (PR Web)

Wednesday Roundup

Sadly, the "Naked Burglar" will not be able to commit more crimes. Police arrested a man who they suspect to be the nude man was caught on surveillance tape breaking into a convenience store, stealing alcohol and weapons and attempted to disguise himself by placing a trash bucket over his head. (Las Vegas Now)

Love is on trial for murder--that is, Sherri Love is on trial for murder. Her murder trial is before District Court Judge Stewart Bell and the family of the 7 yr-old victim is an attendance in tears. (Review-Journal)

The ACLU has joined the constitutional challenge to Nevada's new sex offender law on behalf of the most sympathetic group of Plaintiffs ever--12 sex offenders. (Review-Journal) The lawsuit claims the new law punishes sex offenders for crimes for which they've already served time.



Apparently Oakland Radiers' receiver Javon Walker's earlier claim of being kidnapped from the Bellagio is dead wrong. Las Vegas police have arrested one man and were searching for another involved in the beating and robbery of Walker. The police are now saying that Walker climbed into Fadel's black Range Rover sport utility vehicle after partying in Las Vegas the night of June 15 only to be beaten and robbed. (Review-Journal)



In Carson City, District Judge Richard Wagner removed three rural Nevada elected officials from the November ballot because of the term limits constitutional amendment, which was passed by voters in the 1994 and 1996 elections. The amendment prohibits officeholders from serving more than 12 years in the same office. (Review-Journal)



Lawyers for the CEO of software company eTreppid Technologies LLC are asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Cooke to impose sanctions on a former executive, who they allege is withholding computer drives and other evidence that had been seized by the FBI in 2007 (and then released due to a 4th Amendment violation). (Review-Journal)

U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson found a man accused of impersonating a notary public for members of an "imaginary" Indian tribe in contempt of court, but allowed him to avoid jail time (after warning him not to notarize any more documents). (Review-Journal)

A columnist explains why its legal for motor scooters to drive in the travel lanes. (Review-Journal)