During the District Court Judge’s Meeting (Oct. 11) the judges selected Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle to serve a second two-year term. Her nomination must now be ratified by the Nevada Supreme Court. In addition, Judge Hardcastle selected Judges Stewart R. Bell, Elizabeth G. Gonzalez, and T. Arthur Ritchie Jr. to serve as Presiding Judges for calendar years 2007 and 2008.
Judge Bell will continue to serve as the Presiding Judge over the Criminal Division. Bell, a former Clark County District Attorney, created the Criminal Overflow System, which allows the District Court to bring more criminal cases to trial.
Judge Gonzalez will continue to serve as the Civil Presiding Judge for the District Court. In the past two years, Gonzalez has enabled the court to reduce the number of medical malpractice cases pending in the court and has introduced other strategies to enable the court to improve time-to-disposition for civil cases.
Judge Ritchie will remain in his leadership role as the Presiding Judge of the Family/Juvenile Division. He will continue to oversee the programs of the Family/Juvenile Division aimed at helping and assisting Clark County families and juveniles.
“We look forward to working with the Nevada Supreme Court to further improve our processes for adjudicating cases,†said Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle. “This team will continue to pursue new methods, expanded our Business Courts, and further our efforts to ensure the public receives access to justice in southern Nevada.â€Â
