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District Court Judge Douglas Herndon determined this morning (Jan. 23) that a portion of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act is constitutional, upholding the civil side of the statute, while at the same time declaring the criminal portion of the statue failed to meet a constitutional standard. Under the judge’s ruling, civil penalties will remain, with smokers facing a $100 fine for smoking in a tavern, restaurant, theater, school or airport. However, with the criminal penalties removed, no one will go to jail for smoking. In announcing his ruling, Judge Herndon said he chose to side with voters who chose to make indoor areas smoke free by “allowing the measure to go forward with its full operation and purpose, which is to ban smoking.”

District Court Judge Douglas Herndon presided over the sentencing of Jody Thompson today in Department 3.

Case Minutes

WHAT: Investiture ceremony for Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Abbi Silver.

WHEN: 3:30 p.m., Friday (January 19, 2007).

WHERE: Clark County Government Center, Commission Chambers, 500 Grand Central Parkway.

EVENT: During this ceremony, Judge Silver will formally be administered the oath of office and will receive her judicial robe. Members of the judiciary, including the Nevada Supreme Court, the Eighth Judicial District Court, and the Las Vegas Township Justice Court will attend the ceremony. The judges will make formal comments, with concluding remarks presented by Supreme Court Justice Michael Cherry. A reception will follow the ceremony in the Clark County Community Room.

CONTACT: Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534.

• BiographyÂÂ

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.”

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.

Event Video

Justice of the Peace Douglas E. Smith has been selected as the Las Vegas Justice Court Chief Judge, effective January 1, 2007. Judge Smith will serve as the Chief Judge for the Las Vegas Justice Court through 2008. The Chief Judge position is selected by the Las Vegas Justice Court’s Justices of the Peace and serves a two-year term.

“I am excited about the opportunities that face me as Chief Judge and the Las Vegas Justice Court. I want the transition from Judge James Bixler to myself to be as smooth as possible and to work with all the other Clark County entities to ensure our services continue to benefit the public,” said Smith.

Judge Smith earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 1979 and his law degree from Whittier College School of Law in 1982.

He has served the public as a private attorney, Clark County Public Defender, and as a Clark County Deputy District Attorney, prior to taking the bench.

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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.”

The Nevada Supreme Court has named Clark County Judge Douglas Herndon to preside over State v. Darren Mack in Washoe County’s Second Judicial District Court. The action follows a decision last week by Senior Judge J. Charles Thompson to disqualify all district court judges in the Second Judicial District.

Judge Joe Bonaventure recused from this case Thursday at the request of the District Attorney. The attorney assigned by the District Attorney in the case is related to Judge Bonaventure by marriage. The case will be reassigned by Master Calendar.

A second Clark County District Court program has been selected by the National Association of Counties (NACo) for a 2006 Achievement Award. District Court’s Mental Health Court has been identified as an innovative and progressive specialty court allowing the community to divert offenders with mental illness, who are charged primarily with non-violent offenses, into treatment programs. Previously this month, the District Court was selected to receive a 2006 NACo Achievement Award for its eJuror system. Read more…

Defendant Mark Zana appeared with counsel this morning and announced he was selecting a new attorney to handle his defense. Attorney Thomas Pitaro substituted in as Zana’s new attorney and Judge Donald Mosley recused from the case. The case was sent to master calendar for reassignment to a different District Court judge.