Incumbent Becker debates challengers

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Aug. 31, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

In the race for a seat on the Nevada Supreme Court, the incumbent agrees with her two challengers: the court system needs some help. But incumbent Nancy Becker and her two challengers, lawyers Gary Backus of Ely and Day Williams of Carson City, don't agree on either the problems faced by the court or proposed solutions.

They hashed out their differences in an informal debate Wednesday during a special edition of the Sun's news discussion show, "POV Vegas," which airs on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channels 1 and 39.

The top two vote-getters in the Sept. 5 primary will meet again in the general election.

Backus, who has practiced in Reno since 1972, said the court appointments have not kept pace with growth. He said the system has simply been overwhelmed by an unmanageable caseload.

"Unfortunately, as the court presently exists we might as well not have it. The situation has become so desperate that you have judges out there paying no attention to the Nevada Supreme Court's decisions because they know the case can never be appealed," Backus said.

Williams, a former casino worker and cabdriver, claims that money has played the bigger hand in degrading justice in the state's highest court.

"Justice is suppposed to wear a blindfold and in Nevada it does make a difference, whether the Supreme Court admits it or not, who your attorney is and who the litigants are. It affects decisions," Williams said.

Both Backus and Williams said they would work harder and could produce more opinions than current justices. But Backus said even if all three candidates were elected they would still be "just a drop in the bucket."

Backus suggested an intermediate appellant court.

Becker, who spent 12 years as a Municipal Court and District Court judge before being elected to the Supreme Court two years ago, agreed to an extent. She said an intermediate appellant court would allow the Supreme Court to focus more time on research and producing more in-depth opinions.

But Becker said that during her tenure the Supreme Court has already reduced its backload of pending cases from 2,400 to 1,800. She called her state Supreme Court the third busiest in the nation, handling about 2,000 cases annually. She also disputed Williams' assertion that money directed justice.

While she acknowledged that having the resources to hire three lawyers could be advantageous, Becker said, "In my court, I've seen many people who have lost."