Nevada judicial elections, 2012
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The Nevada judicial elections consisted of a primary election on June 12th and a general election on November 6th. The filing deadline for judicial candidates was January 13th.[1][2]
Nevada judicial elections summary, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Supreme Court[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Cherry (Nevada)  | Yes | Seat C | 73.25% | |
| Michael Douglas | Yes | Seat F | 74.26% | |
| Nancy Saitta | Yes | Seat G | 73.32% |
District Courts[edit]
Second Judicial District[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Dunlap | No | Department 9 | 47.0%  | |
| Egan Walker | Yes | Department 2 | 100% | |
| Scott N. Freeman | Yes | Department 9 | 53.0% |
Fourth Judicial District[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvin R. Kacin | Yes | Department 2 | 100% | |
| Nancy Porter | Yes | Department 1 | 100% | |
Fifth Judicial District[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimberly Wanker | Yes | Department 1 | 66.6% | |
| Nancy Lord | No | Department 1 | 33.4% |
Eighth Judicial District[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriana Escobar | Yes | Department 14 | 51.2% | |
| Bruce L. Gale | No | 7.12% | ||
| Carolyn Ellsworth | Yes | Department 5 | 75.5% | |
| Chris T. Rasmussen | No | Department 20 | 48.98% | |
| Jerome Tao | Yes | 51.02% | ||
| John Watkins (Nevada) | No | Department 4 | 7.57% | |
| Kerry Earley | Yes | Department 4 | 19.91% | |
| Marsha Kimble-Simms | No | 14.52% | ||
| Michael C. Mills | No | Department 4 | 8.25% | |
| Michael D. Davidson | No | Department 14 | 48.8% | |
| Phung Jefferson | No | 24.6% | ||
| Robert A. Kelley | No | Department 4 | 9.28% | |
| Soonhee Bailey | No | Department 4 | 13.23% | |
| Troy E. Peyton | No | Department 4 | 4.81% |
Tenth Judicial District[edit]
| Candidate | Incumbency | Position | Primary Vote | Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Stockard | Yes | Department 1 | 100% |
Justice Courts[edit]
For information on the trial court judicial elections, please visit: Nevada judicial elections, 2012 - Justice Courts
In the News[edit]
Nevada election recap, 2012[edit]
Nevada: This year, three justices on the Nevada Supreme Court were up for retention. Michael Cherry, Michael Douglas, and Nancy Saitta were all retained by a comfortable margin, each earning at least 73% of votes in their favor.
At the trial court level, candidates competed for seats on the Nevada District Courts and the Nevada Justice Courts. There were 10 positions up for election on the district courts this year, and every single one of those races was won by the incumbent candidate. Three of the races were decided in the primary election on June 12, with the other seven decided in the November general election. Of the 10 victorious incumbents, four of them were unopposed in their bids to maintain their seats. At the other end of the spectrum, a grand total of nine candidates ran for a single seat on the Eighth Judicial District Court, a seat that was eventually won by incumbent Kerry Earley with only 19.91% of the vote.
This year, there were 49 seats up for election on the Nevada Justice Courts. Seventeen of those races were uncontested and featured incumbents successfully holding their seats. In the contested races, 18 incumbents maintained their positions, while four of them were defeated by newcomers:
- Brian E. Boatman defeated incumbent Reese F. Melville (Eastline Justice Court)
- Karen Stephens defeated incumbent James D. Evans (Lake Township Justice Court)
- Cynthia Dustin-Cruz defeated incumbent William D. Jansen (Las Vegas Township Justice Court)
- Eileen Herrington defeated incumbent Jack McGuffey (Virginia Township Justice Court)
Among the 14 other newcomers to the justice courts are Lefette Norcutt (Union Township Justice Court), Jennifer Klapper (Tonopah Township Justice Court), Pierre A. Hascheff (Reno Township Justice Court), Kalani Hoo (North Las Vegas Justice Court), Ryan W. Toone (Mesquite Township Justice Court), and Ron Kent (Pahrump Township Justice Court).
Crowded race for Eight District judgeship[edit]
As featured in JP Election Brief: Highlights of the 2012 judicial elections on November 15, 2012
The race for the Department 4 position on Nevada's Eighth Judicial District Court was remarkable for the sheer number of candidates competing for the position: in addition to incumbent Kerry Earley, eight challengers took part in the race. Those challengers earned results ranging from 4.81% of the vote (for Troy E. Peyton) to 15.3% of the vote (earned by second-place finisher Chris Lee). In the end, incumbent Judge Earley was the victor, pulling in just under 20% of the vote.
Nevada Supreme Court race[edit]
As featured in JP Election Brief: The Supreme Court Special on October 18, 2012.
All three of the Nevada Supreme Court justices who are running for re-election this year will be unopposed on November 6. According to a judicial performance survey conducted by the Las Vegas Review Journal in 2010, 73% of respondents recommended Justice Cherry for retention, while 72% recommended Justice Douglas for retention. In the same survey, only 50% of respondents recommended that Justice Saitta be retained, and 50% recommended she not be retained.[3] In spite of those numbers, it is nearly a foregone conclusion that all three justices will be re-elected, continuing a stretch of continuity for a high court that has had the same personnel since its newest member was chosen in 2008.
"None of the above" voting option struck down by Nevada judge[edit]
As featured in JP Election Brief: High court races setting the tone on August 23, 2012.
The "none of the above" option on Nevada ballots was declared unconstitutional in a recent decision by the Nevada District Court Judge Robert C. Jones. Judge Jones said that because the votes are not counted in the final tallies to determine winners the option is illegitimate.[4]
The Republican National Committee was pleased with the outcome, saying "We're glad we were successful in our efforts to bring clarity to the Nevada presidential election ballot."[4]
Deputy Attorney General Kevin Benson disagreed with the decision saying that the option gave voters a chance protest and to show politicians that they do not agree with either candidate. Benson said, "The purpose of the option is to send a clear message."[4]
However, Judge Jones disagreed with Benson, issuing an injunction to remove the "none" option from Nevada's ballots.[4]
The Nevada Secretary of State said he would pursue "an immediate and expedited appeal to protect the long-standing public interest of the 'none of these candidates' option."[4]
State executives create emergency procedure to get candidates on ballot[edit]
As featured in JP Election Brief: Changing the rules in Florida and Nevada (and more!) on April 19, 2012.
Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has issued an emergency regulation, signed into effect by Governor Brian Sandoval, to provide a process for nominating candidates to fill a vacancy in Department 4 of the Nevada 8th District Court in Clark County. This vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Kathy Hardcastle on April 13, 2012.[5]
In general, candidates for any vacant seat on a Nevada court must file their candidacy in January in order to appear on the primary ballot in June.[6] However, the vacancy at issue here arose after the filing deadline for the primary ballot had already passed. Nevada law requires that vacant seats arising "after the second Tuesday in April" and "before the fourth Friday in June," as in this case, must appear on the next general election ballot. Unfortunately, the law does not provide a mechanism for potential candidates to get their names on the November general election ballot. The Secretary of State's emergency regulations are intended to provide such a mechanism, because "[a]bsent these regulations, there exists no legal direction to Clark County or potential candidates as to how they become nominated for the ballot."[7]
The emergency regulation provides that those interested in appearing on the November ballot must complete a candidate nominating petition and collect the signatures of 761 registered voters. The petition and signatures must be filed with the Clark County Registrar of Voters by 5:00p.m. on May 21, 2012. This emergency regulation does not govern any judicial vacancy other than that in Department 4 during the 2012 election year.[8]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- RGJ.com, "3 Nev. Supreme Court Justices run unopposed," January 23, 2012
- Nevada Secretary of State, Offices up for Election Scroll to page 5
Footnotes[edit]
| |||||||
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
- ↑ Nevada Election Information Guide 2012
- ↑ Clark County Nevada: Judicial Candidate Filing, Jan. 3-13, 2012
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Judicial Performance Evaluation – 2010: Nevada Supreme Court"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Associated Press, "Judge strikes down Nevada's 'none' voting option," August 22, 2012
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Emergency regulation issued for upcoming judicial election," April 4, 2012
- ↑ ktnv.com, "Deadline looms for Nevada judicial candidates," January 13, 2012
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, Written Statement of Emergency in Support of Emergency Regulations, April 12, 2012
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, "Secretary of State issues emergency regulation on judicial vacancy, candidate nominating process," April 2, 2012
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