Finding replacement for Judge Teuton likely to take months

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 | 5:35 p.m.

CARSON CITY – It will be several months before a replacement is named for Clark County Family Court Judge Robert Teuton, who was ordered out of the job by the Nevada Supreme Court this month.

A court spokesman said it will take three or four months to get the applicants, do the background checks and then recommend names to Gov. Jim Gibbons, who makes the appointment.

Gibbons has disagreed with the decision of the court, saying “I regret that the people of Nevada must endure what appears to many as a fruitless, time-consuming and costly exercise.”

Gibbons said he agreed with the minority opinion written by Justice Mark Gibbons (no relation) that Teuton should serve until the 2010 election.

The governor said, “I am especially sympathetic to those litigants that have and will, appear before multiple judges during the life of their case as a result of declaring a vacancy in this office twice in less than a year and a half.”

Bill Gang, a spokesman for the court, said “Judge Teuton’s calendar will be covered by elected judges or senior judges. The funds to pay the seniors will come from the salary already designated for that seat.”

The Supreme Court held that the appointment of Teuton by Gibbons in August 2008 lasted only to January this year. It said the office should have been put on the ballot in the November election last year.

Justice Michael Cherry, who wrote the majority opinion, said the Nevada Constitution should allow Nevada citizens to elect a new district judge as soon as possible after an office becomes vacant.

The governor maintains Teuton should serve until the 2010 election.

In his hand-delivered letter to the Supreme Court last Tuesday officially declaring the office vacant, the governor asked the court to instruct the Commission on Judicial Selection to begin its process immediately.

The governor agreed with Justice Gibbons, who said Nevada law prohibited any change in the general election ballot after Aug. 19, 2008. That was three days before Judge Teuton was appointed.