Archive for July, 2009
Judge William O. Voy Addresses Underage Prostitution
Posted by Michael in District Court, Education, Family Court, High Profile, Judges, Juvenile on July 24th, 2009
Judge William O. Voy, a Family Court Judge in Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court, appeared Thursday evening (July 23, 2009) on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric to discuss the urgent need to tackle the national problem of underage prostitution in the United States.
Voy, who presides over juvenile matters in the Clark County Family Court, said the problem is a national one and not just localized to Las Vegas. He said the problem must be addressed by parents, courts and law enforcement in every city across the country.
Links:
- Nevada now has the most stringent punishments nationwide for child prostitution, pandering
- Judge, group launch bid to fund youth safe house: Foundation reception seeks aid to build facility for teenage prostitutes
- New law levies harsher child prostitution punishment
- NevadaChild.com
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Steven Grierson Selected as Court Executive Officer
Posted by Michael in Administration, Chief Judge, Specialty Courts on July 24th, 2009
The judges of the Clark County Courts have selected Steven D. Grierson as the Court Executive Officer for the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and the Eighth Judicial District Court. Grierson replaces Edward A. Friedland, Esq. who resigned from the position in June.
Grierson most recently served as the Assistant Clerk of the Court in the Eighth Judicial District Court. He managed the Court Clerk functions and previously served as administrator for the Specialty Courts Division, including the Mental Health and Drug Courts.
“I am honored to be chosen for this position and am looking forward to carrying out the vision and mission of the Clark County Courts,” said Grierson. “My key focus will be to balance the Court’s successful spending control strategies while constructing new courtrooms and implementing major technology initiatives.”
Grierson will administer the needs of two urban courts made up of 55 elected judges, 13 commissioners and hearing masters and approximately 800 employees. The Clark County Courts consist of the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and the Eighth Judicial District Court and represent Nevada’s largest urban court system.
“Mr. Grierson has been an integral part of our courts for the past 12 years,” said Las Vegas Township Justice Court Chief Ann Zimmerman. “He has been instrumental in initiating innovative programs in the Specialty Courts Division, as well as providing his expertise on legislative matters. He has been invaluable in establishing and maintaining relationships with our partners in the justice community.”
“Steve understands the challenges the court faces in implementing new programs and in supporting judicial officers,” said Eighth Judicial District Court Chief Judge T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr. “He has experience in inter-government relations and has worked at the highest level of decision making during the last three legislative sessions. Furthermore, he and his family are long time Nevada residents who are committed to our community.”
Grierson is a two-time alumnus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He earned his Master of Science in Counseling from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1997 and his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1992.
In 2005, the elected judges of the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and the Eighth Judicial District Court agreed to consolidate certain court functions under a single court administrator with the intention of promoting efficiency, improving collaboration and strengthening the independence of the judiciary.
The Eighth Judicial District Court is the largest general jurisdiction court in Nevada and encompasses all municipalities and outlying communities in Clark County. The District Court’s elected judges preside over more than 99,000 criminal, civil and domestic cases filed each year in the court. The Las Vegas Township Justice Court serves as the limited jurisdiction court for urban Clark County, comprising the Las Vegas Strip and the unincorporated areas of Las Vegas. The Justice Court’s elected judges preside over more than 50,000 criminal cases, 85,000 small claims, evictions, and other civil disputes, as well as more than 240,000 traffic matters each year.
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Judges Practice Role Play to Help Parties Reach Agreement
Posted by Michael in Civil, District Court, Family Court, Judges on July 24th, 2009
Clark County Courts Judges will role play to learn how to mediate and resolve cases during training sponsored by the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the William S. Boyd School of Law on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
More than 25 judges will participate in the training led by Dr. Peter Maida, a mediation expert. Maida will lead judges through family and civil court scenarios and teach them how to lead discussions, engage litigants and reach negotiated settlements in cases. The judges will act out each scenario and Maida will teach them how to help parties reach agreement. The course will focus on facilitating collaboration between parties and find common-ground for reaching a settlement.
This focused training will teach judges to lead mediations in various settings, such as divorce or foreclosure. The mediation skills will enable judges to provide better service, help parties reach a settlement and speed up adjudication. Mediation provides individuals with quicker resolution and releases court days for other trials.
“Matters coming to the court must be resolved quickly and mediation is an important tool,” said Chief Judge T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr. “Mediation may help families facing foreclosure, a divorce or any other matter that requires fast resolution and help from the court.”
In May and June, the Civil and Family Divisions conducted marathon settlement conferences which resulted in adjudicating 80 Family Court and medical malpractice cases in five weeks. This effort released more than 100 trial days for pending trials in the courts.
For more information contact Court Information Officer Michael Sommermeyer, (702) 671-4534.
Caseload Reassignment Affects Five Judicial Departments in the District Court
Posted by Michael in Administration, Case Activity, Criminal, District Court, Judges, State v. Simpson, Trial on July 10th, 2009
The Executive Judicial Committee of the Eighth Judicial District Court has announced a plan for reassigning caseloads for five judicial departments in the Eighth Judicial District Court. The reassignments will involve the following judges: Judge Doug Smith, Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, Judge Mark Denton, Judge Allan Earl and Judge Kathleen Delaney. While the actual caseload transfer will occur the weekend of July 25 and 26, 2009, the changes will be in effect starting Monday, July 27, 2009.
Effective Monday, July 27, 2009, the judicial department calendars will reflect the following changes:
- Judge Doug Smith, Department 8, will acquire Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez’s Criminal Caseload (Criminal Track 3).
- Judge Allan Earl, Department 19, will be receiving approximately 800 of Judge Doug Smith’s Civil Cases through a random reassignment.
- Judge Allan Earl, Department 19, will be receiving approximately 400 of Judge Kathleen Delaney’s Civil Cases through a random reassignment.
- Judge Kathleen Delaney, Department 25 will be receiving approximately 50% of Judge Mark Denton’s Business Court Cases through a random reassignment.
Effective July 27, 2009, any pending or future District Court matters, for reassigned cases, will be heard in the department consistent with the information above.
In the event the attorney has not exercised a peremptory challenge and wishes to do so, he/she must exercise the peremptory challenge in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 48.1 and the case will be randomly reassigned.
To confirm the newly assigned department or future court dates, parties may view the Eighth Judicial District Court’s on-line case inquiry information at https://www.clarkcountycourts.us/Anonymous/default.aspx.
August Medical/Dental Malpractice Status Checks and November Settlements Scheduled
Posted by Michael in Administration, Chief Judge, Civil, District Court on July 6th, 2009
Chief Judge T. Arthur Richie, Jr announced today that Medical/Dental Malpractice Status Checks will be scheduled for August 4 and 5, 2009 at the Complex Litigation Center, 333 South Sixth Street in Las Vegas.
The status checks will take place between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. each day and will include scheduling for the upcoming November 2009 Medical/Dental Malpractice Settlement Conference Marathon.
The November Settlement Marathon will focus on 131 cases out of compliance with the requirements of NRS 41A. The court intends to make a significant and meaningful attempt to resolve these cases during these settlement conferences.
The Nevada Supreme Court has approved the assignment of Senior Judges to conduct the November Settlement Marathon. A similar marathon between May and June 2009 allowed the court to settle 37 pending cases, which released 75 judicial trial days to take other cases to trial.
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