Goodsprings JP to retire

Wednesday, July 28, 1999 | 11:31 a.m.

After serving 12 years as Goodsprings justice of the peace, longtime Nevadan Janet Curtis Smith will retire Monday.

A Nevada resident of 61 years, Smith was appointed to justice of the peace in July 1987 by the Clark County Commission following the retirement of Stuart A. McCarthy. Smith was re-elected in 1988.

The Goodsprings court has jurisdiction in Sloan, Goodsprings and Jean. The court handles mainly traffic cases, driving under the influence cases and embezzlement cases from nearby casinos.

Smith, however, presided over the highly publicized Jeremy Strohmeyer case in 1997.

Strohmeyer, 19, confessed to the May 25, 1997, rape and killing of 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson at the Primm Valley hotel-casino near the Nevada/California border.

Before serving as justice of the peace, Smith worked as a record and research clerk in the Clark County district attorney's office. She also served as a court clerk to U.S. District Judge Roger Foley.

In 1971 Smith was appointed to administrative assistant to then-Gov. Mike O'Callaghan. Prior to that she was a legal secretary to former District Court Judge Thomas O'Donnell for four years.

An open house at Goodsprings courthouse is scheduled for Thursday at noon.