Nevada Supreme Court to set strategies during spa retreat

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 1998 | 11:09 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- While most state agencies have reduced travel because of a statewide budget crunch, the Nevada Supreme Court is spending $10,000 to $12,000 this month for a retreat at a Death Valley spa.

The justices and staff will get away from their daily business Dec. 10-11 to head to the Furnace Creek Inn. The agenda includes planning the court's mission and discussion of how the court operates.

Meanwhile, state agencies quietly have been devising plans to slash up to $88.3 million from the budget for this fiscal year, which began July 1, and Gov. Bob Miller has imposed a hiring freeze, which is expected to save another $7.5 million.

Three of the current justices, the three new justices and key members of the Supreme Court staff will attend. "It's a rare chance for them to interact before they hit the road" in January, said Karen Kavanau, director of the administrative office of the court.

She suggested the retreat and got the idea from her experience in private industry, Kavanau said. The Death Valley locale was also her idea.

She didn't want it in Las Vegas because telephone calls would pose too many interruptions, and the Reno-Carson City area was overruled because of the weather.

Justice Bob Rose, who takes over as chief justice in January, called it an "orientation conference" so that the three new court members can learn the decision-making process and the general operation of the court before their swearing-in Jan. 4.

The problem in holding a session in urban centers, Rose said, is that "you cannot keep the judges' attention on specific subjects. They are running off to answer the phone or take care of an emergency in court."

"The expense is moderate for the great benefit," Rose said.

The court has hired a facilitator -- Timothy Fautsko from the National Center for State Courts in Denver -- to help cover the agenda, which Kavanau said is overflowing.

Chief Justice Charles Springer, who is retiring from the court, and Justice Cliff Young, who is returning to work after suffering a stroke, won't attend.

But the three newly elected justices -- District Judges Nancy Becker and Myron Leavitt, both of Las Vegas, and Deborah Agosti of Reno -- will attend along with Rose and Justices William Maupin and Miriam Shearing.

One major topic will be the division of the court into panels for the first time in its history.

With the enlarged seven-member court, the justices will break into two three-member panels that will be rotated every six months. The membership of the southern panel will be Maupin, Agosti and Becker. The northern panel is composed of Young, Shearing and Leavitt. The chief justice will not be on a panel but will sit in when someone is disqualified. And he will handle the administration of the court and appearances before the Legislature.

Rose said some 400 to 450 cases will be referred to each panel. If a case requires oral arguments and it comes from Las Vegas, the southern panel will hear it at its offices at Fourth Street and Bridger Avenue. A corresponding procedure will exist in northern Nevada, with the court sessions in Carson City.

The panels don't take effect until March. In February, the full court will hear oral arguments in Carson City.

On major cases, such as death-penalty appeals, all seven members will hear arguments in Carson City.

Rose said Becker and Leavitt have asked to have their permanent offices in Las Vegas because they have only two-year terms. He said they didn't want to move to Carson City until after they have won six-year terms. And this works out for the court, Rose said, because they can handle emergencies in Southern Nevada and give the court a greater presence.