Former District Court Judge Michael Fondi dies

Michael Fondi, a former Nevada First District Court Judge in Carson City, died at his home this morning, according to Fitzhenry’s Funeral Home. He was 78.

Fondi had been in home hospice care when he died, said Fitzhenry’s General Manager and Funeral Director Jim Smolenski. No funeral arrangements have been made at this time and will be forthcoming.

According to Judge Bill Maddox, former Carson City District Attorney and State District Court Judge in Carson City, Fondi served in Department 2 of the First District Court of Nevada in Carson City from 1977 to 2000. He had also served as Carson City District Attorney prior to his appointment to the bench.

Maddox said when the Nevada Legislature voted in 1977 to create a second department in Nevada’s First District Court, then-Governor Mike O’Callaghan appointed Fondi to that court seat, where he sat for 23 years.

“He was very well respected around the state, and an excellent district court judge,” Maddox said. “He was my mentor when I started the practice of law. I always sought his advice. He was like a big brother to me.”

“He contributed a lot to this community,” Maddox added. “This is a loss to the community.”

Current First District Court Judge Todd Russell expressed his sorrow over Fondi’s death.

“The court is saddened by the loss of Judge Fondi,” Judge Russell said. “He was a very good judge that everyone respected and thought highly of.”

But Fondi was more than that to Russell, and others who knew him personally.

“He was a colleague, friend and a neighbor of mine,” Russell said. “He was just a great guy, loved to hunt, and was very involved in the community.”

Russell said he had known Fondi since the former began practicing law in Nevada in 1973.

According to Russell, Fondi was past president of the Nevada District Court Judges Association. He was also instrumental behind the construction of the current Carson City courthouse.

Former Carson City District Attorney Noel Waters, who served the county from 1985-2006, said he had known Judge Fondi since graduating from law school in 1980.

“He was one of the mainstays here in Carson City,” Waters said. “I was honored to have served in his courtroom. He will be missed.”

Waters said he will remember Judge Fondi as a fair-minded judge who treated both sides well. He said he knew Fondi had been ill, but he declined to comment further on the Judge’s condition at the time of his death.

Senior Judge Robey Willis said he had known Judge Fondi for 45 years, and described his friend and colleague as “a real fighter.”

“He was one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met,” Judge Willis said. “A great legal mind.”

Judge Willis chuckled as he shared an anecdote about Judge Fondi. He said the Judge’s bailiff, a 6-foot-5, 250-lb. officer known as “Bear Claw,” once described Fondi to Willis as a magician.

Whenever someone got convicted in Judge Fondi’s courtroom, Bear Claw told Willis, they’d disappear and not be seen again.

Willis said Judge Fondi had been ill for about a year-and-a-half before he died.

“He became very weak right after Christmas,” Judge Willis said.

Besides Fondi’s wife, Willis said three sons survive the judge: Mike, Jr., in Las Vegas, Tony in Carson City, and Jon in Reno.

Current Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury shared his office’s reaction to Fondi’s passing.

“This is just a very sad day around the courthouse here,” Woodbury said. “For over thirty years as a [district attorney] and district court judge here, the way he conducted his courtroom and was respectful and professional, it was a tribute to the legal community.”

Woodbury recalled that Judge Fondi not only commanded respect as a judge, but he demanded it of his courtroom as well.

“I saw what he did to unprepared lawyers and lawyers who did not conduct themselves professionally,” Woodbury said. “He was definitely an icon to Carson City.”

Woodbury said Fondi carried an aura about him that seemed fitting for a judge.

“He just had this way about him that was everything that you would want in a lawyer and a judge,” Woodbury said. “He had this sense of morality and about right and wrong. You felt compelled to live up to the example that he set.”

Woodbury said the Carson City District Attorney’s Office wishes to express its condolences to Fondi’s family.

“Our thoughts are with his wife and his children today,” Woodbury said. “We know what he meant to us, and we can only imagine what he meant to them.”

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong shared similar feelings expressed by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office.

“He was a wonderful man and his roots were deep into Carson City as anybody,” Furlong said. “He played a significant role in how we are shaped and I just never saw him without a smile on his face, a highly respected and wonderful man.”

Judge Michael Fondi received his law degree from the University of California in 1962 and was admitted to the California Bar in 1963, according to the web site www.lawyerdb.org.

He began practicing law in Nevada around 1965 when he started working at the Nevada Attorney General’s office.

He was elected Carson City District Attorney in 1971 and served until 1977 when he was appointed to Department 2 of the First District Court of Nevada in Carson City, where he served until his retirement.

Fondi’s exact cause of death hasn’t been confirmed or released yet.

Developing. Check back for updates.