Kris Pickering
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 11 min
2009 - Present
2027
13
Kris Pickering is a judge for Seat B of the Nevada Supreme Court. She assumed office in 2009. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.
Pickering ran for re-election for the Seat B judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Pickering completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Pickering became a member of the court through a nonpartisan election. She was elected in 2008 to the seat vacated by A. William Maupin.[1][2] To read more about judicial selection in Nevada, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[3] Pickering received a confidence score of Mild Republican.[4] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography[edit]
Pickering was born in San Francisco, California. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1974 and a J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law in 1977. After graduation, Pickering clerked for U.S. District Judge Bruce R. Thompson. Before her election to the Nevada Supreme Court, Pickering was a private attorney. She was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2008. Pickering served as chief justice of the court in 2013 and 2020.[1][5][6][7]
As of July 2021, Pickering was a member of the American Law Institute and served as co-chair of the Nevada Access to Justice Commission.[1][8]
Elections[edit]
2020[edit]
See also: Nevada Supreme Court elections, 2020
General election for Nevada Supreme Court Seat B
Incumbent Kris Pickering won election in the general election for Nevada Supreme Court Seat B on November 3, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Kris Pickering (Nonpartisan) 
|
77.4
|
905,541 |
| Other/Write-in votes |
22.6
|
263,976 | ||
|
Total votes: 1,169,517 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Nonpartisan primary for Nevada Supreme Court Seat B
Incumbent Kris Pickering defeated Esther Rodriguez and Thomas Christensen in the primary for Nevada Supreme Court Seat B on June 9, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Kris Pickering (Nonpartisan)
|
57.4
|
262,119 |
|
|
Esther Rodriguez (Nonpartisan) |
22.3
|
101,913 | |
|
|
Thomas Christensen (Nonpartisan) |
12.8
|
58,421 | |
| Other/Write-in votes |
7.5
|
34,279 | ||
|
Total votes: 456,732 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
2014[edit]
- See also: Nevada judicial elections, 2014
| Nevada Supreme Court, Seat B, 2014 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kristina Pickering Incumbent (unopposed) |
77.45% | 360,951 |
| Write-in votes | 22.55% | 105,079 |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 466,030 | |
| Source: Nevada Secretary of State Official Judicial Results | ||
2008[edit]
Pickering ran for election to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2008. She won the general election with 42% of the vote.
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kris Pickering  |
No | Seat B | 25.3% | 42% | |
| Deborah Schumacher | Seat B | 23.6% | 39% | ||
| None of these candidates | Seat B | 6.7% | 18.9% | ||
| Nancy Allf | Seat B | 21.9% | |||
| Don Chairez | Seat B | 22.3% |
Election results are from the Nevada Secretary of State for the Primary Election and General Election.
Analysis[edit]
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)[edit]
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[9]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[10]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Kris
Pickering
Nevada
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Mild Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Republican
- Donated less than $2,000 to Republican candidates
- Received donations from Republican-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
Pickering was a registered Republican as of 2020. She donated $450 to Republican candidates. She received $400 from Mt. Rose Republican Women's Club. She was endorsed by both Republicans and Democrats, including Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) and Gov. Richard Bryan (D).
Other Scores:
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)[edit]
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Pickering received a campaign finance score of -0.15, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -0.22 that justices received in Nevada.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[11]
Campaign themes[edit]
2020[edit]
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kris Pickering completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pickering's responses.
| Collapse all
I am the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court and am running for reelection. Since I joined the court in 2009, I have participated in the decision of 1000's of cases; authored opinions on criminal law, civil law, water law, family law, constitutional law, and administrative law; served on the Nevada Pardons Board; co-chaired the committee tasked with updating the NRCP; and helped lead the effort that led to the creation of the Nevada Court of Appeals. I am deeply committed to access to justice - I founded the Nevada Appellate Pro Bono program in 2013 and currently co-chair the Nevada Access to Justice Commission.
Nevada is my home. I grew up in northern Nevada, graduating from Reno High School. From there I went on to Yale University (BA) and law school at Georgetown University and UC Davis King Hall School of Law (JD). I returned home to Nevada and tried cases and argued appeals in Nevada's state and federal courts until I joined the Nevada Supreme Court.
- My 10 years service as a Nevada Supreme Court Justice gives me the experience required to do the job.
- I follow the law and apply it fairly and impartially.
- As Chief Justice, I am working with fellow members of the Nevada Judiciary to lead our courts through the COVID-19 crisis.
Access to Justice
This is not a matter of political philosophy so much as a matter of access to justice. I believe deeply in the fairness of our system of justice. At the same time, we must recognize that no system is perfect 100% of the time and we must be vigilant and open to correcting mistakes when they a occur. A book that I recommend on that point is Bryan Stephenson, Just Mercy.
The Nevada Supreme Court hears and decides appeals involving every area of law that touches the lives of Nevadans - criminal, civil, family, employment, administrative, constitutional, environmental and water law. The appellate issues are processed through the evidentiary and procedural rules that control jury and bench trials and motion practice in district court. A justice's core responsibility is to know and apply the law competently and fairly.
Working for my dad, who was a pediatrician in northern Nevada who also traveled to rural areas to provide care to critically ill children.
As a Justice on the Nevada Supreme Court, I am a member of the Nevada Pardons Board, with the Governor and Attorney General. These proceedings are a matter of grace, not entitlement, and require an understanding of Nevada's criminal, sentencing, and parole and probation laws and the ability to assess the competing interests of the defendant, the victim, the victim's family, the prison system, and society as a whole.
There are many - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, across the board; Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes for his decisions on the First Amendment; Justice Robert Jackson for his clear thinking and the ability he had to express his thoughts in writing; Justice Richard Posner for his brilliance; and Justice Thurgood Marshall.
In 2018 I received an 83.9% retention rating from the Washoe County Bar Association.
In 2019 I received a 75% retention rating from the lawyers surveyed in the Las Vegas Review Journal's Judging the Judges Survey. I also receive a 4.1/5 substantive law rating.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
State supreme court judicial selection in Nevada[edit]
- See also: Judicial selection in Nevada
The seven justices of the Nevada Supreme Court are elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. When their terms expire, justices must run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[12]
Qualifications[edit]
To serve on the Nevada Supreme Court, a person must at the time of election:
- be at least 25 years old;
- be licensed and admitted to practice law in Nevada, and have been licensed and admitted to practice law in the United States for at least 15 years, including at least two years in Nevada;
- be a qualified elector;
- have been a state resident for at least two years preceding the election;
- have never been removed from judicial office by the legislature or the commission on judicial discipline.[13]
Chief justice[edit]
The chief justice of the supreme court is chosen according to seniority. According to state law, if there are two or more eligible justices, the chief justice is determined by lot.[14] Alternatively, the internal operating procedures of the supreme court allow the possibility of an agreement between eligible justices.[15] According to the Administrative Office of the Courts in Nevada, often the eligible members of the court will agree to a lesser term as chief justice if there are multiple eligible justices in the last two years of their terms who want to serve in that capacity. Such agreements have been memorialized by a court order or other official document filed with the clerk.[16]
Vacancies[edit]
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection solicits and screens applicants. The commission presents a list of three nominees to the governor, who appoints one to fill the vacancy until the next general election. If the predecessor's term is not expiring that election cycle, the appointed justice must win election to the court in order to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.[17]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
|
Candidate Nevada Supreme Court Seat B |
Officeholder Nevada Supreme Court Seat B |
Personal |
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Supreme Court of Nevada, "Justice Kristina Pickering," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ Nevada Appeal, "Politics a role in state Supreme Court races," October 23, 2008
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Nevada Lawyer, "Meet Your New Justice: Kristina Pickering," January 2009
- ↑ Carson Now, "Kristina Pickering named Chief Justice at Nevada Supreme Court," December 31, 2012
- ↑ News 4, "Kristina Pickering begins term as 2020 Supreme Court Chief Justice," January 2, 2020
- ↑ Administrative Office of the Courts, "Access to Justice Commission," accessed July 5, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Nevada | Selection of Judges," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ Nevada Legislature, " NRS 2.020 Qualifications," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ Nevada Legislature, "NRS 2.030 Election; Chief Justice," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ Nevada Judiciary, "Nevada Supreme Court: Internal Operating Procedures," May 20, 2021
- ↑ This information was provided to Ballotpedia in an email from the Administrative Office of the Courts in Nevada.
- ↑ Administrative Office of the Courts, "FACTS and FAQs," accessed August 20, 2021
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nevada • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nevada
State courts:
Nevada Supreme Court • Nevada Court of Appeals • Nevada District Courts • Nevada Justice Courts • Nevada Municipal Courts • Clark County Family Court, Nevada
State resources:
Courts in Nevada • Nevada judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nevada
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