Wrapping up District Court recommendations

The remainder of our endorsements in Clark County District Court: In Department 29, Judge David Jones faces a challenge from David Lopez-negrete, a chief deputy in the Clark County Public Defender’s Office who promises to fight for “equal justice under the law” and bring an “underrepresented perspective” to the bench.

Judge Jones, a graduate of McGeorge School of Law, was appointed to his position in 2016 and retained his seat in 2018. Unlike many of those serving on the bench, he has a background outside of the law, working as a teacher at Rancho High School after graduating from college. He scored exceptionally well on the Review-journal’s Judging the Judges survey in 2019, earning an 85 percent retention score and gaining high marks for his preparation, fairness and expediency.

Judge David Jones has a bright future on the bench and there’s no reason to replace him.

Judge Joanna Kishner is running to keep her seat against Gary W. Call, a personal injury attorney, in Department 31, which handles civil matters.

Judge Kishner, a UCLA law school graduate, was first elected in 2010 and then re-elected in 2014, when she ran unopposed. While the Review-journal has not endorsed her candidacy in the past, Judge Kishner has done a good job during her 10 years as a jurist and vows to not “interject any of her personal beliefs into her decisions.” She says her approach is to follow the law “fairly and ethically” and to avoid judicial activism. She earned a disappointing 61 percent retention rating in the RJ’S judicial survey, but received high marks for impartiality.

Mr. Call did not show up for a debate with the incumbent. We urge voters to elect Judge Joanna Kishner to another term.

In Department 32, Judge Rob Bare faces Christy Craig, who has been a Clark County public defender for 20 years and says her judicial philosophy would be “efficiency, timeliness and punctuality.”

Judge Bare, a Penn State law school grad, was elected in 2010 and again in 2014. He is a former municipal court judge, served with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and worked as general counsel of the Nevada State Bar for 17 years. Judge Bare calls his court the “people’s court” and speaks of the dangers of judicial activism. “I don’t do what I want to do personally,” he said. “What I do is I follow the law. And that is called judicial restraint.”

Judge Bare’s retention rating in Judge the Judges slipped from 80 percent in 2013 to 67 percent last year, but he remains highly thought of in areas such as courtesy, temperament and fairness. We haven’t always agreed with Judge Bare’s legal reasoning, but he’s a conscientious and effective jurist who has earned another term. We urge a vote for Judge Rob Bare.

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.