Judicial pay raise withdrawn

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

In a letter dated May 15, Shearing formally withdrew the request to raise the pay of three justices, including herself, and seven district judges.

The proposal incensed several lawmakers who thought the court was trying to hide the pay increases in a study of the Family Court system.

"It is unfortunate that a misunderstanding developed over joining the salary equalization request with the concept of a Family Court study," Shearing said in the letter to legislators.

"Because this misunderstanding may possibly compromise other programs which are vital to fulfilling the duties of the court, the court has voted to remove the request for salary equalization from the Supreme Court and district judges' salary budgets," she said.

The controversy was not a topic of conversation, however, during Monday's meeting of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The panel is considering a bill to expand the court from five to seven justices to handle an increased caseload.

AB343 has been passed by the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Because of the costs of adding two justices and staff, projected at $735,780 in fiscal 1998 and $676,734 in fiscal 1999, the measure was reviewed by Ways and Means.

No vote was taken on the proposal, but no one spoke in opposition.

Justice Bob Rose said neighboring states, even those with much smaller caseloads, have more appellate judges to handle appeals than Nevada. Idaho, for example, which has one-quarter of the appeals that Nevada sees each year, has five Supreme Court justices and three appellate judges, he said.

The two additional justices, which would allow the court to meet in panels of three to decide most routine cases, would go a long way to providing equity, Rose said.

The court has tried but failed to convince voters to create an intermediate appeals court.

The only question came from Joe Dini, D-Yerington, who asked why the two new justices would not be appointed to address the caseload immediately.

Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, the bill's sponsor, said some opposition existed to the appointment of the new justices. The bill would require the two new seats to be filled in the 1998 election.