Recommendations for Clark County District Court

Nearly three dozen judicial races are on the ballot in Clark County, including 18 District Court seats. A handful of such contests were decided in the June primary, when candidates in nonpartisan campaigns featuring more than two entrants are declared the winner if they receive more than 50 percent of the vote.

We reiterate our recommendations for District Court primary candidates who advanced to the general election: Department 2: Carli Kierny; Department 3: Adam Ganz; Department 4: Phil Aurbach; Department 5; Terry Coffing; Department 19: William Kephart; Department 21: Jacob Reynolds; Department 23: Karl Armstrong.

In Department 1, Jacob Villani and Bita Yeager are vying to replace retiring Judge Ken Cory. Ms. Yeager is a former public defender who was appointed a judge in Las Vegas Justice Court in 2015 but lost her election bid a year later. She now serves as a District Court hearing master. Mr. Villani, a graduate of UNLV’S Boyd School of Law, is a chief deputy district attorney for Clark County.

Mr. Villani is running more of a “tough on crime” candidacy and vows to hold wrongdoers accountable. “Victims matter,” he says. Ms. Yeager stresses her 25 years as an attorney and vows to implement “community-minded” justice and “to solve problems for real people” while promoting “equal access to justice.” Both candidates are eminently qualified, but we would give Bita Yeager a slight edge thanks to her breadth of experience.

In Department 6, Judge Jacqueline Bluth faces a challenge from Todd Leventhal. Judge Bluth, a UNLV law school grad, is a former Clark County prosecutor who was appointed to the bench in April

2019 by Gov. Steve Sisolak. Mr. Leventhal, a graduate of Golden Gate University Law School, is a Las Vegas defense attorney.

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Bluth was part of the Special Victims Unit at the Clark County district attorney’s office. She has extensive courtroom experience and has accrued the support of a wide-ranging group of community organizations. We urge a vote to retain Judge Jacqueline Bluth.

In Department 8, Judge Trevor Atkin faces Jessica Peterson. Judge Atkin, a 1987 graduate of Pacific University’s Mcgeorge School of Law, was appointed to the bench in September 2019 by Gov. Steve Sisolak. Ms. Peterson, a 2000 graduate of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, is a private attorney and arbitrator.

This department is a civil division, and Judge Atkin has almost three decades of experience in that area. Before his appointment, Judge Atkin was vetted by a state panel charged with filling judicial vacancies, and Ms. Peterson offers no compelling reason why voters should remove him from office after a year. We recommend a vote for Judge Trevor Atkin.

Thursday: More District Court.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal.

All other opinions expressed on the Opinion and Commentary pages are those of the individual artist or author indicated.