Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SUN ENDORSEMENTS:

Supreme Court needs experience on the bench

Justice Gibbons, Judge Schumacher are the best picks for the state’s high court

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Gibbons is up for reelection this year to seat D, and he has proved himself to be a worthy and able judge.

Gibbons is working on several fronts to increase efficiency in the courts and to improve the overall reputation of the judiciary, which has been a difficult task, given some of the terrible news made by judges this year.

Gibbons, however, has always enjoyed an excellent reputation as a judge who knows the law and applies it fairly. He spent six years as a judge in District Court in Clark County before winning election to the Supreme Court in 2002, where he has performed admirably.

He has been cited by other judicial candidates as the type of judge they would like to emulate, which is the highest form of praise. Gibbons has been an asset to the Nevada judiciary and a strong addition to the Supreme Court. He deserves to be reelected. The Sun endorses Mark Gibbons.

In the other Supreme Court race on the ballot, attorney Kris Pickering and Judge Deborah Schumacher are vying for seat B, which opened with Justice William Maupin’s retirement.

Both candidates are well qualified, but Schumacher is the clear choice.

She has served as a Family Court judge in Washoe County since 1997, and before that, she handled civil litigation and appellate work at large law firms in San Francisco and Reno.

On the bench, Schumacher has been a leader in a program to improve the efficiency of the courts.

Pickering, who practices as a civil litigator, has tried to minimize Schumacher’s judicial experience by saying it is limited by being in Family Court. But Family Court is a state District Court, and it is a particularly difficult assignment, with the task of applying the law to emotional and complex cases. As a judge, Schumacher makes daily decisions that affect regular people’s lives, property and freedom. That kind of experience is vital for a Supreme Court justice.

Schumacher has the right combination of experience, skill and ability to be a good justice. The Sun endorses Deborah Schumacher.

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