Lawyer blames loss in custody battle on judge’s bias

Thursday, June 30, 2005 | 8:50 a.m.

A Las Vegas attorney is claiming he lost a custody battle because the judge was biased against him.

In court papers filed Tuesday, lawyer Randy Rumph accuses Family Court Judge Cheryl Moss of favoring some lawyers over others because of personal relationships and campaign contributions.

Rumph alleges that Moss's bias led her to award custody to his ex-wife of their children. The ex-wife was represented by one of the attorneys Moss allegedly favored, Peter Bellon.

Bellon did not return a phone call Wednesday.

"Judge Moss has certain attorneys who are on her campaign contributors' list who receive favorable treatment in her courtroom," Rumph's affidavit states. It also states that Moss previously handled legal cases for Bellon while renting office space from him before she was elected to the bench.

The court filing includes a statement from a former law clerk for Moss, Marvin Santamaria, stating, "I ... understand that there is a list of attorney contributors to the judge's campaign who received favorable treatment in the judge's courtroom, although I did not see the list."

Moss denied the allegations Wednesday, saying Rumph was merely "an unhappy litigant who didn't win in court" and who resorted "to this course of action to manipulate the judicial system."

Santamaria and another former law clerk who made allegations of favoritism were both let go from their jobs after only a few months, she said, while four other clerks have worked for her without being fired and have not made accusations against the judge.

Moss has been a family court judge since 2000.