WHAT IS A DISTRICT COURT JUDGE AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
AM I IN YOUR DISTRICT?
WHERE DOES THE COURT ACTUALLY MEET?
WHAT DOES DEPARTMENT 23 MEAN?
WHO IS THE CURRENT JUDGE IN DEPARTMENT 23?
ARE YOU A LAWYER?
WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE?
WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR YOU?
WHAT DO YOU THINK A JUDGE SHOULD DO ABOUT INTERPERETING THE LAW?
HOW CAN I HELP WITH THE ELECTION?

WHAT IS A DISTRICT COURT JUDGE AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
A District Court Judge is a judge who hears disputes between people ranging from auto accidents to eminent domain to business disputes and beyond. In fact, a District Court judge hears all cases in which the amount of money in dispute is over $10,000. Those kinds of disputes are called "civil" disputes and are governed by certain rules and procedures. A District Judge hears criminal matters, presides over criminal trials and is responsible for sentencing those found guilty. District Judges also hear appeals from lower courts such as Municipal or Justice Court as well as appeals from administrative agencies, such as worker compensation claims. Lastly, there are some District Judges who handle only family matters such as divorces or adoptions. These judges are generally called Family Court judges because of their specialization but they too are District Court Judges.

AM I IN YOUR DISTRICT?
If you live anywhere in Clark County, you are in this District. The District for judges in Clark County is technically called the Eighth Judicial District. In Nevada, there are nine judicial districts with some districts including more than one county. The Eighth Judicial District (Clark) and the Second Judicial District, (Washoe) are large enough that they cover only one county.

WHERE DOES THE COURT ACTUALLY MEET? [_top_]
The Court meets in Las Vegas at the new Regional Justice Center. Family Court matters are heard at 601 N. Pecos in Las Vegas.

WHAT DOES DEPARTMENT 23 MEAN? [_top_]
The Department is a merely a designation of which courtroom you will be using. As the court grows to meet the needs of the citizens of Clark County, the numbers increase. Civil/Criminal Courts are designated by numbers while Family Court Departments are designated by letters of the alphabet. The department is somewhat like going to a wedding and being told that you are seated at table 23 or being told at work that your office number is 23. The difference in running for a judgeship is that one designates which "office" that one would like to have. Once a person files for office, they are asked which office they would like to sit in.

WHO IS THE CURRENT JUDGE IN DEPARTMENT 23? [_top_]
There is no current judge in Department 23. The Legislature created Departments 22, 23, and 24 at Civil/Criminal Court and Department M at Family court due to the increasing population in Clark County.

ARE YOU A LAWYER? [_top_]
Yes, I am a lawyer. I have been a lawyer since 1981.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE? [_top_]
I believe strongly that being a judge is an important role in society. Judges help people resolve problems in a civilized manner so that we as individuals do not have to resort to "self help" such as chopping down our neighbor's tree when we think it is on our property line. I want to be a judge so that I can be a good public servant who looks out for the public interest and brings justice to the all of the people in our community. I enjoy helping people in resolving disputes and I am good at it. Sometimes it is hard to put this into words but I have a burning desire to make things better for people. I really think that is a key in anyone's life - to have a burning passion to do something with one's life that makes the world a better place. This could mean having a desire to be the best ditch digger ever so that the public has safe roads or the best salesman so that the public benefits from your product. For me, being a judge is how I can best have an impact on making this a better society.

I also want to bring new ideas to the debate as to how to most efficiently and effectively administer the justice system to provide access to justice. This is a boring topic for a lot of people but I actually spend time thinking about ways to making it easier to get people through the court process. A little nerdy maybe, but that's me. I announced when I as eight that I wanted to be a lawyer and I have been thinking about the way we administer justice ever since. (and trust me, I am no spring chicken!) My goal is to work to make the system faster and cheaper for those who find themselves in litigation.

WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR YOU? [_top_]
If you want an honest, hard working person as a judge who is really passionate about the administration of justice, then I am your woman. I have been a lawyer for 26 years. I have worked in government, small business and labor in my career. I have had may own law firm where I emphasized civil cases. I truly understand the needs and relationships of these groups and the interaction between them when it comes to the way the Legislature makes the laws and the way a judge interprets them. I have had nearly ten years of experience in working in the courts in Clark County and assisting judges in decision making, and in writing decisions for review by the Nevada Supreme Court and in doing things such as opinion letters to help in administering the judicial system. The new departments, such as Department 23, will be designated as civil departments for probably the first two years. This means that the judge in Department 23 will work on an exclusively civil case workload with an occasional overflow criminal trial thrown into the mix. Having an expertise in civil law and in the way the court works based on my prior experience, means that I will be ready to work for you from the first day. This would definitely not be the case for those who have specialized in criminal cases. Those types of judicial candidates would need a lot of on the job training and catching up to do the work they will have in the first two years. Your choices then would be to elect someone like myself who is ready to go on Day 1 or to elect a trainee. The salary is the same for both people. If it was your business (and it is your business as you are the employer of whomever you elect), would you want to hire the trainee or the experienced person? I am the experienced person and that is why you should vote for me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK A JUDGE SHOULD DO ABOUT INTERPERETING THE LAW? [_top_]
I believe that the courts should interpret the law and not make the law. In doing so, the courts should look to the actual language employed in the law, as well as the legislative record to insure what is the intent of the law. That said however, reasonable people can and do differ as to what things mean and even whether certain laws should be allowed in light of other pre-existing laws or rights. It falls to the judge to determine to the best of his or her abilities as to what the correct interpretation is and which side must yield to the other in any dispute. One may not agree with the opinion reached but if the judge's decision is reached in an honest evaluation of the issues and with a fair hearing for each side, then that judge has done his or her job properly.

HOW CAN I HELP WITH THE ELECTION? [_top_]
Anyway you want to. Do you want a bumper sticker or yard sign? Do you have time to volunteer? Do you have a few dollars to spare? Would you like to add your name to the endorsement page? Do you belong to a group that you would like me to speak at? You can sign up right here by going to the Volunteer page. Or you can always send me an email at Elizabeth@halverson4judge.com . Thank you for your support and desire to help. Please remember to vote!