SUPREME COURT SEAT F

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:29 a.m.

Supreme Court Justice Michael L. Douglas faces Las Vegas attorney Joel Frederick Hansen for Supreme Court Seat F, previously held by the late Myron Leavitt.

Douglas was appointed to the Supreme Court in April by Gov. Kenny Guinn after Leavitt's death. Douglas, Nevada's first black justice, was chief judge in Clark County and said he had planned to run for the Supreme Court before he was appointed.

Douglas, 56, faces a challenge from Hansen, a 60-year-old attorney who entered the race after the court's controversial decision to allow the 2003 tax increase without the constitutionally required two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

Hansen said that as a Supreme Court justice he would uphold and defend the Nevada Constitution and that he believes in constitutional supremacy over judicial supremacy.

Douglas said that he wants to keep politics and agendas out of the court, improve access and support programs to provide "speedy justice" in civil cases.

Hansen received his law degree from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School, while Douglas graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Douglas began serving as a District Court judge in 1996 and has since been elected to two terms. He served as a Clark County deputy district attorney from 1984 to 1996 and is an honorary alumnus of the UNLV Boyd School of Law.

Douglas is endorsed by numerous law enforcement organizations, including the Police Protective Association, Nevada State AFL-CIO, Caucus of African-American Nevadans and Hispanics in Politics.

Hansen has been practicing law in Nevada for 26 years, and served as secretary-treasurer of the Defense Trial Lawyers of Nevada in 1989 and 1990. He is a member of the Nevada State Bar Association and the Clark County Bar Association.

Hansen is an Eagle Scout and received the Silver Beaver award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Douglas received the National Federation of Black Public Administrators Mark of Excellence Award in 1996, the Black Law Students Association's Western Region Community Service Award in 1998 and the Distinguished Men in Southern Nevada Award 1998-2004.