Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Pavlikowski to retire after 28 years as district judge

District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski, the most senior trial judge in Nevada, has told Gov. Kenny Guinn that he is retiring from the job he has held since 1971.

While Pavlikowski's last official day is June 30, he already has made arrangements to become a senior district judge and handle the caseload in his courtroom until Guinn appoints a replacement -- a process that likely will take about three months.

Pavlikowski will then take other assignments around the state as one of Nevada's few senior judges.

Before being elected district judge at a time when there were only six judgeships in the county compared with 27 today, Pavlikowski served as Clark County justice of the peace from 1967 to 1970.

He became a Nevada lawyer in 1961, and from 1962 to 1966 he was a deputy city attorney in Las Vegas.

Pavlikowski served in the Air Force as a fighter pilot during the Korean War, flying more than 100 combat missions in the F-86 Sabre Jet.

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