Abbatangelo steps down as chief judge

Thursday, July 8, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

Clark County Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo has stepped down as chief judge but will continue his duties as a judge, he said today.

"There have been a lot of issues as chief judge that have stretched me very thin, and I have four children under age 7 with whom I want to spend more time," Abbatangelo said of his decision to step down halfway through his one-year term as chief.

Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis will serve the last six months of Abbatangelo's term as chief judge. Vice Chief Justice of the Peace James Bixler will remain in that post and is next in line to be chief judge next year.

The justices take turns at the head post but have the option to pass when their turn comes.

Abbatangelo also said each Clark County justice has 13,000 cases, noting the next busiest justices are in Reno, where the caseloads are 5,500.

"We are slammed with cases," he said noting the job of just being a local justice "is so time consuming."

In an e-mail to a number of people, including fellow justices of the peace and County Manager Thom Reilly, Abbatangelo wrote:

"The time, dedication, and love I put into the two priorities of my life, family and work, has come to a point in which I can not meet my self-imposed expectations. Therefore, I have decided to step down as Chief Judge."

Abbatangelo said he will continue to work on some justice of the peace projects, including the Maximus system, the new case management software system that is in the development stage right now.