Attorney appointed to fill vacant Municipal Court seat

Erin Neff

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.

An attorney who has not filed for election to the Las Vegas Municipal Court was appointed Monday to temporarily fill a vacancy on the bench.

The appointment, made by the Las Vegas City Council, removes the potential for giving one of six announced candidates for the seat a political advantage.

John Lavery, who has served as an alternate municipal judge since 1995, was appointed to the Department 4 bench.

Chief Judge Seymore H. Brown asked the council to appoint Lavery so he can "devote himself full time to this position until the voters have made their choice."

By city charter, the council has 30 days to name an appointment to the court when a vacancy occurs. When Judge Valorie Vega left Municipal Court for a District Court appointment, however, the timing of an appointment to fill her vacated position coincided directly with the close of filing for candidates seeking election to the seat.

If any of the six candidates who filed for election were appointed to the position, he or she would have had an advantage leading up to the May 4 primary, as that person would have been able to advertise using the words "Retain Judge ... "

Voters would likely see that person as the incumbent and would lean toward retaining that judge, according to several of the Municipal Court candidates.

The council's decision instead will allow all six candidates the ability to concentrate on their campaigns. Brown suggested that if any of the candidates were appointed, he or she would be distracted by the campaign and unable to devote time wholly to the court's "extremely busy" caseload.

"It makes sense for the court, for the candidates and for the electorate," City Councilman Arnie Adamsen said.

The six attorneys who have filed for the position are Ron Baron, Bert Brown, Nicholas Anthony Del Vecchio, Craig Hendricks, Tony Liker and Jessie Walsh.

The council initially was slated to appoint Vega's replacement at the March 8 meeting. At that time, however, only Hendricks, a deputy district attorney, had met with all four councilmen and the mayor.

Walsh, a deputy public defender, had met with some, but not all, of the council.

There is no formal screening process involved with a Municipal Court appointment. Interested candidates must be attorneys and must reside in Las Vegas, but need no other formal requirements. As a result informal meetings with council members produce the appointee.

Several candidates, including Bert Brown and Del Vecchio, said previously that they were not actively seeking an appointment to the position because they wanted voters to decide.

Lavery will immediately take over as Department 4 judge. If one candidate receives a majority of the votes during the May 4 primary, he or she will then be sworn in as judge. If not, the two top primary vote earners will square off in the June 8 general election.