Stalking complaint against Reno judge prompts retirement, probe

The 2nd Judicial District Court in Washoe County is investigating potential undisclosed conflicts of interest involving a longtime judge accused of stalking a Reno attorney.

On Jan. 12, Kelci Binau, an attorney with McDonald Carano, a prominent Nevada law firm, filed an application for protection against Bridget Robb, a Washoe County district judge for nearly 20 years. In her application, Binau alleges Robb stalked her more than 300 times over a 20-month period that began in May 2024.

The Reno Justice Court granted Binau’s temporary protection order Jan. 16, prompting Robb to announce her retirement from the bench effective Feb. 6.

Binau’s application includes a number of allegations that raise potential conflict-of-interest issues involving Robb over cases involving the McDonald Carano firm’s lawyers.

While the protective order application redacts some names, it appears the alleged stalking began after Binau started dating Reno attorney Matt Addison, a longtime partner in the McDonald Carano firm.

Addison and Robb previously had a decadelong “on-again, off-again” relationship that ended in 2021, according to the application.

Robb was first appointed to the 2nd Judicial District Court in 2006. It is unclear how many cases she oversaw involving McDonald Carano attorneys, such as Addison, since the alleged stalking and previous relationship began.

Court Clerk Alicia Lerud last week told the Sun that the court’s investigation into the potential conflicts was ongoing. In the meantime, Chief District Judge Egan Walker has issued an order removing Robb from all Washoe District Court case and committee assignments.

Those conflicts could also include cases she heard as a business court settlement judge — a special mediator handling disputes in confidential conferences to help parties reach an agreement before trial.

Information provided by the 2nd Judicial District Court to the Sun showed Robb was appointed to sit as a mediator for business court proceedings. However, the court couldn’t provide the number of cases in which she was involved in mediation.

Mediation agreements are forwarded to the original trial judge, who makes the final decision in the case.

Binau noted in her application that Robb had served as a mediator in disputes involving McDonald Carano clients.

Leigh Goddard, managing partner of the firm’s Reno office, told the Sun that the firm was “currently reviewing the matter and assisting the 2nd Judicial District Court with its review.” The firm also has offices in Las Vegas.

“McDonald Carano’s focus has been, and will continue to be, on our associate’s well-being and the safety of the members of our firm,” Goddard said. “We take our ethical obligations to our clients, the courts and the firm seriously and remain committed to upholding the highest professional standards.”

UNLV law professor Nancy Rapoport said disclosing romantic relationships between judges and lawyers helps preserve a court’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public, but she added there were many gray areas when it comes to a timeline for disclosing that information.

“Are you supposed to disclose after one date? Nah, people have one date and they fail all the time,” Rapoport said. “But once it becomes a romantic relationship that is significant — not getting married, but significant … at that point, you’ve got to go public.”

Rapoport offered her own standard for when such a relationship needs to be disclosed: “Once you have a toothbrush at the other person’s place, it’s time to disclose.”

An undisclosed relationship with a judge can have a major effect on previous rulings. In 2023, a man convicted of murder in an Oklahoma court was granted a new trial due to a “prior sexual relationship” between a prosecutor and a judge, according to the American Bar Association.

“If somebody is trying to get a different result in a case, just because this judge was the judge, that person is going to have to prove that the result would have been different but for this relationship,” Rapoport said. “That’s extremely hard to do.”

Goddard said McDonald Carano was unaware of the information included in the application for a temporary protective order “until shortly before” it was issued.

That’s an important legal question, as Rapoport noted that, if the law firm was aware of a relationship requiring disclosure, it has a responsibility to say something.

Judges should also share potential conflicts of interest with attorneys involved in a case, even if it’s not related to a romantic relationship, she said.

The idea of someone with Robb’s standing in the legal community stalking an attorney seemingly baffled Binau, who believed their first few encounters with the judge at the same location were “innocent.”

But within a few months, the “sheer volume” of times they had crossed paths made her realize that “we were not dealing with chance encounters.” That belief was further cemented when Robb “altered her stalking behavior after I had a camera and security system installed” at her Reno home, Binau wrote.

On Dec. 30, Binau filed a police report regarding the alleged stalking.

“I have been and am fearful for what Ms. Robb may do to me both personally and professionally now that I have filed a police report and now this application,” Binau wrote. “I am scared and intimidated by the influence she may have over people, my law practice and attorneys that I know.”

Binau said the most recent instance of stalking occurred Jan. 7, when she was attending a predawn Pilates class at a venue in a Reno shopping center. Two Reno police officers found Robb nearby, according to the application.

The officers then spoke to Robb at her home, where she admitted to stalking Binau, the application states. That was after Robb had been repeatedly asked to stop stalking and harassing Binau, she wrote.

“Since May 2024, Ms. Robb has engaged in a course of conduct causing me to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, harassed and fearful for my safety,” Binau wrote.

Robb, in a statement to the Reno Gazette Journal, said stepping away from her judicial roles was “in the best interest of the court, my family and the community.”

 

kyle.chouinard@gmg vegas.com / 702-990-8923 / @Kyle_Chouinard