Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.
Clark County residents should get used to seeing their judges on television and in the newspapers.
According to a written opinion released by the state's Standing Commission on Judicial Ethics, there is nothing wrong with District Court judges being appointed media liaisons during high-profile cases as long as they provide unbiased educational information.
"I'm thrilled," District Judge Michael Cherry said Tuesday. "I think this is a real victory for Clark County."
Cherry and Clark County District Court Administrator Charles Short had asked the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline for its opinion on the issue after Cherry acted as District Judge Joseph Bonaventure's spokesman during the Ted Binion murder trial.
Cherry took on that role after court officials did some research on high-profile cases.
Knowing that the case would receive considerable attention, court officials went to the National Center for State Courts and the Los Angeles County Superior Courts, where O.J. Simpson had been tried in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Short said he learned that National Center representatives had spoken with judges who presided over high-profile cases, such as the Simpson case and the Oklahoma City bombing.
The number one thing those judges recommended was a judicial spokesman, Short said.
Now, Nevada may be the only state in the nation that has a formal mechanism that allows for such a thing, Short said.
"I think it's wonderful news, and it's another step in recognizing that judges continually need to make educational efforts on behalf of the judicial system," Short said.
Cherry and Short said the committee's decision will also help the judiciary gain the trust of the public and dispel any fear they might have.
"We want to show them that we're not the bogeyman," Cherry said. "This courthouse belongs to the people, and we sometimes forget that. By doing this we're trying to make a better judicial system for the whole state."
The judges will also be able to get feedback from the public, Cherry said.
Cherry said he has already been asked to be the judicial spokesman during the Jessica Williams trial in January. Williams is accused of driving under the influence of drugs in an accident that killed six teenagers who were cleaning up trash along Interstate 15.
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