by Dennis Myers
The NevAdA Supreme CourT ASkS voTerS for reiNforCemeNTS
A
couple of decades ago—I think it was 1989—I arrived at work as a reporter one day at the Nevada Legislature and wandered into the Assembly hall about 20 minutes before the house was supposed to go into session. About a dozen members were seated at their desks doing paperwork. Another half-dozen members were on their feet, flitting from member to member. One was kneeling next to one of his seated colleagues, whispering anxiously in his ear. Standing on the east side of the
OPINION
|
NEWS
|
GREEN
|
FEATURE STORY
hall, I wondered what the heck was happening. I hadn’t seen anything quite like this before.
motion during the morning session to bring back to life a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would create a Nevada court of appeals. As more and more assemblymembers entered the hall, I shot footage of the lawyer/ lawmakers scurrying from member to member and ran it on the air that night in Reno. It illustrated far more effectively than any narrative I could have composed how determined the state’s legal community was to get a state court of appeals. Their lobbying worked. In a second vote, the measure was approved. Not that it mattered. In
Walking around to the press desk, I asked another reporter what this scene meant. He smirked and pointed out that all the assemblymembers who were moving around the hall were lawyers. “The court of appeals resolution got voted down yesterday,” he said. So several prospective judges were on the floor feverishly lobbying their colleagues—something actual lobbyists were not permitted to do on the floor—to change their votes and approve a reconsideration |
ARTS&CULTURE
|
ART OF THE STATE
|
FOODFINDS
|
FILM
|
MUSICBEAT
|
1992, voters shot it down, 54.2 to 45.8 percent. But the legal community remained convinced that a court of appeals was needed. Over the years, I learned that some attorneys were either indifferent or hostile to the idea, but kept silent because there was enormous professional pressure to go along. A court of appeals is regarded in legal circles as a form of judicial “reform,” and most of those who support the notion also seem to oppose Nevada’s system of electing instead of appointing judges. In this election year of 2014, the court of appeals is back. The 2011
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
|
THIS WEEK
|
MISCELLANY
and 2013 sessions of the Legislature again approved the measure and put it back on the ballot. The way it was drafted may not have been helpful to advocates of a court of appeals in getting voters to approve it this time.
WorkloAd Because the Nevada Supreme Court is the state’s only appeals court, every case that is appealed from lower courts must be heard by the Supreme Court. Where the U.S.
“HeLP!” continued on page 10 |
JANUARY 2, 2014
|
RN&R
|
9
