New Justice Court judgeship attracts five candidates

The three incumbent justices of the peace in Las Vegas Township who are up for re-election to their six-year seats are unchallenged. But one race for the newly created Department 7 seat has five candidates signed up.

Justice courts handle misdemeanor and traffic cases, felony arraignments and preliminary hearings, minor civil matters, temporary protective orders and evictions.

Those who aren't challenged are Department 3 Judge Tony Abbatangelo, Department 4 Judge James Bixler and Department 6 Judge Nancy Oesterle.

DEPARTMENT 7

* Martin Hastings, 34, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and his law degree from the University of San Diego. He worked as a deputy city attorney before entering private practice five years ago. Hastings, who was a law clerk for District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski, said he has first-hand knowledge of the effects of crime because his father was killed by a drunken driver.

* Jennifer Togliatti, 31, is a deputy district attorney who graduated from UNLV and California Western School of Law. She currently is assigned to the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit where she prosecutes primarily sexual assault charges. She advocates restructuring the justice courts to balance the caseloads throughout the day for better efficiency. She has been endorsed by the Police Protective Association, Veterans in Politics and the Central Labor Council.

* Jack Fields, 40, is a graduate of the University of Utah School of Law who worked as Domestic Violence Commissioner for the Family Court before resigning earlier this year. He said he also has experience in the civil matters that are handled by the justice courts.

* Brian Morrison, 47, graduated from Pepperdine School of Law before becoming a California lawyer in 1979 and a Nevada attorney in 1990. He cites his experience as a pro tem Municipal Court judge and a Justice Court small claims and traffic referee.

* Mike Schaefer, 60, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, calls himself a "public interest attorney." He served two terms as a San Diego City Councilman before moving to Las Vegas and seeking election to a variety of city, county and state posts. He is campaigning while on house arrest after being convicted of misdemeanor charges of pepper spraying one of his neighbors and shoving another.

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