Judge William Voy presided over a juvenile detention hearing this morning for Michael Mosley. The District Attorney has approximately seven days to file any formal charges. Judge Voy set a new court date of November 24, 2008 at 1 pm at the Family Court.
WHAT: Seventh Annual Adoption Day
WHEN: Thursday (Nov. 13) at 8:15 a.m.
WHERE: Family Court Atrium, Family Court and Services Center, 601 N. Pecos.
EVENT: Clark County’s Family Court, Division of Family Services, CASA and The Adoption Exchange will observe the Seventh Annual Adoption Day at 8:15 a.m., Thursday (Nov. 13), in the Family Court Atrium, 601 N. Pecos, Las Vegas.
During the reception, new families will be welcomed by Judy Tudor, manager of the Department of Family Services, and an adoptive family who finalized an adoption last year.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. adoptive families will finalize adoptions during special court hearings planned for the morning in various courtrooms. More than 35 adoptions, impacting the lives of more than 45 children, are expected to take place.
Judges Cheryl Moss, Jennifer Elliott, Lisa Kent, Dianne Steel and Sandra Pomrenze will preside over adoptions. Families and judges will be available to interview regarding the adoption process.
CONTACT: Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534, or Christine M. Skorupski, Public Information Officer – DFS, (702) 455-4019.
A therapist and judge will soon provide therapeutic justice to individuals in the Drug Courts of the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Chief Judge Kathy A. Hardcastle has assigned Family Court Judge Jennifer Elliott to serve as the Eighth Judicial District Court’s Adult Drug Court Judge, effective Nov. 12. In addition to her Family Court responsibilities, Elliott will preside over the Adult Criminal Drug Court, the Prison Re-entry Drug Court and the Dependency Mother’s Drug Court.
Judge Hardcastle indicated that placing a sitting judge and preparing for expansion in drug court has been a priority for the court. “Expanding the use of the Drug Courts is good public policy,” Hardcastle said.
Judge Elliott has been a licensed attorney in Nevada since 1986, and was a licensed marriage and family therapist in Nevada, graduating from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1998 with a masters of science in counseling, before taking the bench in 2002.
”I am honored that Chief Judge Hardcastle and Chief-Elect Art Ritchie have the confidence in me and my judicial record to place me in charge of Drug Court, which has over 600 participants,” said Judge Elliott. “There were less than five drug courts when Judge Jack Lehman pioneered Clark County’s first Drug Court in the early 1990’s, and now there are over 2,700 drug courts nationwide. This is because drug courts work to reduce the number of days in jail and reduce state and county costs through a reduction in the drug seeking behavior and related crimes of drug abuse.”
The District Court’s Adult Drug Court program is available as a sentencing option to defendants with a drug addiction. The court program mandates sobriety and advocates treatment over incarceration for those willing to change. Individuals accepted into the program must abstain from all drugs, including alcohol, and attend counseling sessions and weekly court sessions for at least one year.
Currently more than 600 individuals are enrolled in the Adult Criminal Drug Court, which has expanded to three days a week at the Regional Justice Center. In order to share courtrooms, Judge Elliott will conduct in-custody drug court hearings via video conference.
“We’ll do whatever we can to get our work done with the courtrooms we have,” stated Chief Judge-Elect Art Ritchie.
The Eighth Judicial District’s Drug Courts are considered models for other courts across the nation. Since September 1992, the Adult Criminal Drug Court has served more than 9,000 people and more than over 3,900 have graduated from the program.
The District Court operates an Adult Criminal Drug Court, a Prison Re-entry Drug Court, a Juvenile Drug Court, a Dependency Drug Court, a Dependency Mother’s Drug Court, and a Child Support Drug Court.
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For more information or to arrange an interview contact Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534.
Tags: Drug Court
The Eighth Judicial District Court appreciates the concern many have expressed about the recent allegations of misconduct by Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio. Based on the allegations, many have asked why the court has not moved to suspend the judge or remove him from the bench. The court does not have the authority to remove a sitting judge from the bench. The Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission is the only agency that can remove or suspend a sitting judge.
Court rules give Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle the authority to reassign Judge Del Vecchio ’s caseload if the allegations against him become a disruption to the normal judicial process for active cases . The court will review preemptory challenges and complaints concerning access to justice to evaluate any impact on Judge Del Vecchio’s caseload. At this time, no decision has been made to reassign the judge ’s caseload.
NOTICE OF EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT BENCH/BAR MEETING
January 31, 2008 @ 12:00p.m.
Courtroom No. 9
601 N. Pecos Road, Las Vegas, Nevada
On behalf of the Family Division of the Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada, we invite you to participate in a Bench/Bar Meeting to be held on January 31, 2008. We welcome your participation and active involvement in the discussion of matters affecting the practice of law in the Family Division. To assist in making our Bench/Bar discussion more meaningful, we request your input regarding issues to be discussed, questions for members of the Bench, and/or concerns regarding the practice of Family Law.
Please e-mail your input to Corinne Price at Corinne@thefinelawgroup.com by no later than Friday, January 18, 2008.
We look forward to seeing you at our January meeting. If you have any interest in participating in a committee of Bench/Bar members for the purpose of planning future meetings, please contact Corinne Price (at the e-mail address listed above), or Bryce Duckworth at bcd@slwlaw.com.
WHAT:   Sixth Annual Adoption Day.
WHEN:   Wednesday (Nov. 14) from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m..
WHERE:   Family Court Atrium, Family Court and Services Center, 601 N. Pecos.
EVENT:   Clark County’s Family Court, Division of Family Services, CASA and The Adoption Exchange will observe the Sixth Annual Adoption Day starting with an opening reception at 8 a.m., Wednesday (Nov. 14), in the Family Court Atrium.ÂÂ
The event will recognize adoptive families who have adopted over the past year or who will finalize adoptions during special court hearings planned for Wednesday morning.ÂÂ
More than 25 adoptions, impacting the lives of more than 35 children, are expected to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in various courtrooms. Families and judges will be available to interview regarding the adoption process.
CONTACT:   Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534.
[Editor’s Note: To arrange interviews with Heather Wilder or Raven Asay, contact Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534.]
LAS VEGAS – They offer hope to young foster children with such titles as “Court Talk,†“Raven’s Rampages,†“Heather’s Hurts,†and “Why Do I Have to Take Medication?†The young authors of these booklets aimed at foster children, Heather Wilder, age 13, and Raven Asay, age 12, join CASA and the Eighth Judicial District Court for the Seventh Annual Light of Hope Ceremony on Thursday (April 19) to recognize the critical need of permanent, loving homes for child victims of abuse and neglect.
The event kicks off at 9 am, Thursday (April 19) in the atrium of the Family Court and Services Center, 601 N. Pecos Ave., Las Vegas with an Agency Fair. More than 20 agencies will answer questions and provide literature about services available for children and families in the community, as well as information about how to become a foster or adoptive parent.
The Light of Hope Ceremony begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Family Court atrium. Wilder and Asay (adoptive youth) will join Michael Sausa (foster youth), to discuss their experiences and offer hope to other children. Wilder and Asay started writing to help them understand what they were going through as foster children and to help other foster children know they are not alone. Their books have been read by many foster children. Wilder recently was featured in People Magazine and will appear later this month on the CBS Morning Show. The booklets can be obtained at http://www.iseepuppy.com.
Michael (18) recently moved out of a foster home into his own apartment on an Independent Living Contract. An Independent Living Contract is a program by which the Department of Family Services (DFS) provides foster care payments directly to the child, so they can pay their own room and board and learn how to budget their own money, prior to aging out of foster care. The child must reside in an approved stable environment. Michael will graduate in June 2007 from Rancho High School in the Aerospace Program. He also works full-time.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. The week of April 15th to April 21st is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. More than 200 volunteers with the Eighth Judicial District Court’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program serve as advocates and voices in court for approximately 550 foster children annually in Clark County. Currently, there are more than 2,200 children in foster care in Clark County.
During the Light of Hope Ceremony, candles will be lit symbolizing the promise of safety and permanency to children with abusive and neglectful backgrounds. Foster children will talk about their experiences, light candles and make wishes for those who come after them. The Honorable Gerald Hardcastle, Juvenile Court Judge, and Tom Morton, Director of the Department of Family Services (DFS) will also be present to promote the importance of the community getting more involved in efforts to fight child abuse.
The community is asked to show support for all children who live with abuse or neglect by shining their car headlights during the day on April 19.
For more information about this event contact Patricia Thacker, CASA Program Manager or Shelia Parks, CASA Program Administrator at (702) 455-4306
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Two 17-year-olds accused of felony reckless driving that resulted in the Dec. 13 death of a Las Vegas man were sentenced today in Juvenile Court by Judge William Voy. Both juveniles were placed on house arrest with curfews to be set by Juvenile Parole and Probation, both must perform 1,000 hours of community service and/or complete counseling, and both will be placed on probation until their 21st birthday. In addition, as a condition of probation neither juvenile can operate a vehicle until they are 21-years-old. The driver of the car that struck and killed Brad Pidwell must also begin serving a minimum of six months at Spring Mountain Youth Ranch.
COURTROOM DISTURBANCE OCCURRED DURING DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS
LAS VEGAS – The highly emotional issues surrounding a difficult child custody matter sparked a fight yesterday in the courtroom of Family Court Judge Cheryl Moss. This resulted in the swift response of administrative and judicial bailiffs in the Family Court. Defendant Geoffrey Wells was subsequently charged with four counts of battery on a police officer.
The altercation began as Judge Moss referred to events in the emotional case and Wells began to show and verbalize his agitation. Bailiff Norm Adams asked Wells to stand after Judge Moss admonished him to sit still and listen, when Wells attacked Officer Adams.
“Our bailiffs performed professionally and admirably and were able to control the explosive situation in a few minutes. It was emotional, physical and intense, but our men and women did what they are trained to do and they did it well,†said Judge Moss.
The court released the event video to the media and will use it for future bailiff training. “It shows how quickly a situation can get out of hand and how quickly a court must respond to ensure it doesn’t spill out into the hallway,†said Presiding Judge T. Arthur Ritchie. “I am proud of the courage, swift actions and professionalism displayed by our deputy sheriffs. They were simply exceptional.â€Â
Four bailiffs were injured during the fight and were taken to University Medical Center for treatment. None of the bailiffs were seriously injured. Defendant Wells was taken by the Metropolitan Police to the Clark County Detention Center for booking on the battery charges.
WHAT:   Fifth Annual Adoption Day
WHEN:   Wednesday (Nov. 15) from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a 12:30 p.m. reception.
WHERE:   Family Court Atrium, Family Court and Services Center, 601 N. Pecos.
EVENT:   Clark County’s Family Court, Division of Family Services, CASA and The Adoption Exchange will observe the Fifth Annual Adoption Day at 12:30 p.m., Wednesday (Nov. 15), in the Family Court Atrium. The event will recognize adoptive families who have adopted over the past year or who will finalize adoptions during special court hearings planned for Wednesday morning. More than 25 adoptions, impacting the lives of more than 35 children, are expected to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in various courtrooms.
Judges Nicholas Del Vecchio, Jennifer Elliott, Dianne Steel and William Voy will preside over adoptions. Families and judges will be available to interview regarding the adoption process.
During the reception, new families will be welcomed by County Manager Virginia Valentine, National Mother of the Year Laurie Richardson, Judge Del Vecchio and a mother and daughter who finalized an adoption last year.
CONTACT:   Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534.
