Former NSHE Regent Challenging Appointed Judge In Special Election

By Dana Gentry, Nevada Current

October 14, 2022

“My opponent is qualified for only half the job,” judicial candidate James Dean Leavitt says of Clark County District Judge Maria Gall, referring to her lack of experience in criminal law. “She’s never handled a criminal matter. And frankly, the only thing that distinguishes the two of us is I’ve practiced civil and criminal law for 30 years. She’s practiced civil for 15 years.”

Gall currently has a civil docket, and District Court has a backlog of civil cases.

“I’m trying to clear that backlog through enhanced case management in my department, but I’m also trying to be very mindful of attorneys’ ability to go to trial back-to-back,” Gall says.

Leavitt says he hasn’t had any trials, criminal or civil, in recent years.

“I don’t believe in trials. If you have to go to trial, that means the parties weren’t able to reach an agreement,” he says. “So I’m very proud to say that I’ve been able to successfully negotiate every one of my criminal cases. 97% of cases plea bargain in state court. My rate is 100%.”

Leavitt says he hopes to avoid trials as a judge.

Litigants in District Court often complain that justice is out of reach, given the price of hiring counsel. While Gall can’t offer assistance to litigants who represent themselves, she says she can direct them to resources for information or even to pro bono attorneys.

“Civil defendants do not have a right to counsel and I don’t have the perfect solution for this, but I firmly believe that we as a bench and a bar need to do what we can to help people access justice because the system is complicated, it’s very difficult for a pro se or pro per litigant to navigate. And we’ve got to ask ourselves, are they obtaining justice?”

Leavitt calls Gov. Steve Sisolak’s appointment of Gall to the bench in June to replace Cristina Silva “pure political pandering” and “shameless.” He says filling a seat months before an election “gives someone the label as the incumbent” and an advantage in fundraising. “Why not leave it vacant?”

Leavitt raised no money as of June 30th. He says candidates in the special election were not allowed to fundraise until just days before the deadline.

Gall raised $28,909 through June and spent all of it.

Gall, who unsuccessfully sought appointment to the bench last year, is best known during her short time in Dept. 9 for ruling that Republican gubernatorial candidate and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo’s emails sent from his Metro address to his campaign consultants, are not subject to Nevada’s open records law because the documents are “of a personal nature.”

A research group working for Democrats filed the suit.

“While it is undisputed that Sheriff Lombardo engaged in political activity using his government email account, the Group has provided no basis upon which to obtain disclosure of what would otherwise be non-public records merely because the Sheriff may have violated policies on conflicts of interest, political activity, and/or personal use of government e-mail accounts,” Gall’s order says.

Gall ordered a limited number of emails be released to the plaintiff.

Leavitt, elected twice to the Nevada Board of Regents in 2004 and 2010, says running for the bench is a “logical progression” to a 30-year career as an attorney that includes practice in both civil and criminal law. Since 2016, he’s added gaming law to his practice.

Four years ago Leavitt was critically injured when he says his gun accidentally discharged. He says he was suffering from depression and “100%” suicidal at the time.

He acknowledges that mental well-being is relevant to serving as a judge. The state’s application for appointment to the bench queries applicants about mental health.

Leavitt says he doesn’t think the incident should define him.

“I don’t think I need to be the poster child” for mental health, he says. “My private battles with depression go back to being a teenager. They go back far further than that, because there’s a substantial history of clinical depression on both sides of my family.”

Leavitt, a graduate of University of Idaho Law School, says he’s been unable to secure any endorsements, but has only applied for a handful.

Gall, a graduate of University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, is endorsed by Culinary Local 226, SEIU Nevada, AFL-CIO, Hispanics in Politics, the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, and a variety of other organizations.

Early voting begins Oct. 22. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Nevada Current, a nonprofit, online source of political news and commentary, documents the policies, institutions and systems that affect Nevadans’ daily lives. The Current is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.