More
so than in other courts, decisions made by family court judges involve
significant discretion. Judges are human
and fallible. Their personal biases,
philosophies, and life experiences influence their rulings and “tip the scales”
in their decision making. That’s why the
lawyers at Pecos Law Group believe that knowing your judge is almost as important
as knowing the law.
The judge is the most important factor
in your case and you have little control over which judge your case will be
assigned. There are 20 full time family
court judges. Approximately 15 of these
judges hear divorce cases. When a
complaint for divorce is filed it is randomly assigned to one of these 15
judges. Until your divorce case has been
assigned to one of these judges, it’s unlikely you have ever heard of the judge
or know anything about the judge.
The only real tool one has available
to learn about judges is the “Judging the Judges” survey the Las Vegas Review
Journal conducts. These surveys can
provide you with limited information. Most
of the judges of receive the “benefit of the doubt” during their first year “honeymoon”
period and enjoy a good rating their first year or two. Often, not many attorneys have appeared
before a new judge and there has not been enough time to determine how good the
judge will be. Most family court judges
receive lower scores with each survey, although occasionally a judge may
improve. Moreover, some judges who are
considered tough, no nonsense and lack patience will often receive lower scores
because they are not liked. Many judges
are perempted for personality reasons as much as their abilities. There is also a relatively low number of
attorneys who participate, and a block of several attorneys can swing results
by several percentage points.
What is a peremptory challenge? Each party is entitled to one peremptory
challenge. What that means is for a
$450.00 fee and a prompt notice, you can “get rid” of a judge for any reason
and get randomly assigned to a new family court judge. There are various reasons why an attorney may
advise you to exercise your peremptory challenge. Your attorney may have a personality conflict
with the judge, or the judge may have a predisposition on a certain issue that
has importance in your case. Peremptory
challenges should be used for strategic purposes and the fee should not be a
deterrence.
Before deciding whether to use your
peremptory challenge, it’s important to identify the contested issues in your
case and learn about the judge assigned to your case. Every judge is different, and every case is
different. Some are more predictable
than others. Should you retain our
office to represent you in your family law matter, we will provide additional
insights into your judge.
Below is some basic information about
some of the family court judges that may help you in deciding whether to
exercise your peremptory challenge:
Judge
William Voy, Department A
Judge Voy is current serving in the
juvenile division and does not hear divorce cases.
Judge
Linda Marquis, Department B
Judge Marquis is one of the new family
court judges. Judge Marquis had little
experience in family court before she was elected, but her intelligence and
common sense has made her one of the better family court judges. Beware, however, do not get on the wrong side
of this judge or your case will not go well.
Judge
Robert W. “Bob” Teuton, Department D
Judge Teuton was an attorney with the
Clark County Juvenile court for approximately 20 years before being appointed
by the governor to the family court in 2008.
Judge Teuton is patient and deliberate.
Judge Teuton’s background, however, is in juvenile court, not family
court and he currently is serving as a judge in the juvenile division and does
not hear divorce cases.
Judge
Charles J. Hoskin, Department E
Judge Hoskin is highly regarded and
his retention score has been consistently high.
Judge Hoskin is prompt and prepared and whether you win or lose, you
will generally feel like you received a fair hearing. Judge Hoskin is one of the more conservative
judges when it comes to alimony awards.
Judge
T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr., Department H
Judge Ritchie was appointed to the
family court by the governor in 1999 and has been retained three times
since. Judge Ritchie is consistently one
of the highest rated family court judges in the Las Vegas Review Journal
“Judging the Judges” survey. Judge
Ritchie is highly respected by the bar and is one of the few judges who follows
most procedural rules. Judge Ritchie
expects attorneys to be prepared and does not have any patience for nonsense or
posturing.
Judge
Davis S. Gibson Jr, Department L
Appointed to fill the vacancy of
Jennifer Elliott’s retirement, Judge Gibson only took the bench in January
2019. Before taking the bench Judge
Gibson was a family court hearing master.
It is too early to know what kind of Judge Gibson will be or how he will
rule on certain issues. As a general
practice, we will preempt new judges for the first several months until can get
a general idea about a judge.
Judge
William Potter, Department M
Judge Potter has been criticized for a
casual and sometimes inconsistent judicial demeanor. Judge Potter, however, is underrated as a
judge and usually makes the right decision.
Judge
Matthew P. Harter, Department N
Judge Harter has served on the family
court since January of 2009. Before being
in private practice from 1995-2008, Judge Harter was the law clerk for family
court Judge Gerald W. Hardcastle. Judge
Harter graduated from UNLV in 1988 with a BA in Business Administration. For better or worse, Judge Harter is decisive
and has the confidence to make orders without regards to external factors. Judge Harter is one of the more liberal
judges when it comes to the award of alimony.
Judge
Sandra Pomrenze, Department P
Judge Pomrenze’s retention score has
decreased over the years, but this may be attributed to some controversial
decisions and her demeanor. She has also
been criticized for following the rules.
Judge Pomrenze is an effective judge and generally reaches the right
decision.
Judge
Bryce C. Duckworth, Department Q
Judge Duckworth was a respected family
law attorney and is highly regarded as a judge.
Judge Duckworth is an excellent judge for any complex family law case
and has an excellent demeanor.
Judge
Bill Henderson, Department R
Judge Henderson has surprised many
lawyers and has turned out to be a good judge.
He is prepared, has a good demeanor and is not afraid to make difficult
decisions.
Judge
Lisa Brown, Department T
In her second stint as a family court
judge, Judge Brown has shown consistent improvement and is now generally
regarded as an effective judge.
Please note that the editorial comments in
this blog do not necessarily reflect the opinion of each attorney at vegas east
attorneys.