Senate OKs appointments of two Las Vegas judges

Greg Tuttle

Thursday, May 25, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Clinton's appointments to two new federal judgeships in Las Vegas.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Roger L. Hunt and Henderson Justice of the Peace Kent J. Dawson become the seventh and eighth U.S. District Court judges for Nevada. Both were confirmed by a full vote of the Senate at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

"They sailed through," said David Cherry, a spokesman for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who recommended Hunt and Dawson to the federal positions.

Clinton is expected to sign an official appointment certificate in the next few days. Hunt and Dawson will then be sworn to the life-long judicial position within several weeks.

The new judgeships were created last year to help ease the case load in one of the fastest-growing federal court systems in the nation. Arizona also received three new federal judges in the latest expansion of the federal judiciary.

Dawson, 55, has served on the Henderson Justice Court since 1996 and was that city's attorney from 1973-79. He was in private practice until appointed by the Clark County Commissioners to the Justice Court.

Dawson said Wednesday he was pleased the confirmation process was over, including the extensive background investigation by the FBI and the American Bar Association. He said he plans to begin his new job in July, after the opening of the new U.S. Courthouse now nearing completion in downtown Las Vegas.

Hunt, 58, has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for eight years. He worked for 22 years at a private law firm in Las Vegas before being appointed by the U.S. District Court judges to serve as a magistrate judge.

Meanwhile, the confirmation of U.S. District Court Judge Johnnie Rawlinson from Las Vegas to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Her replacement, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Linda Riegle, also is awaiting action by the Senate committee.

Cherry said Wednesday it is unlikely the confirmations of Rawlinson and Riegle will move through the process as quickly as Hunt and Dawson, who were both nominated within the last six months. Rawlinson's appointment will likely undergo "additional scrutiny," Cherry said, because she is being considered for a spot on a federal appeals court.