2020 primary election voting guide to Nevada Supreme Court judge candidates

The Nevada Supreme Court is the highest court in the Nevada Judicial system, and represents the third branch of government. There are two seats up for election: Seat B and Seat D.

The Supreme Court’s function within the government of our state is to review appeals from the decisions of district courts. Essentially, their job is to decide whether or not legal errors occurred during a decision from one of the lower courts.

Each Supreme Court Justice is elected to a six-year term. For each seat, three candidates have thrown their hat in the ring.

Nevada Supreme Court Seat B Judge Candidates:

Thomas Christensen is running for election for the Seat B Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. He attended Brigham Young University where he obtained his B.S. in mathematics in 1979, and he received his J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University in 1981.

Since 1999, he has worked as a Supreme Court Settlement Judge for the Nevada Supreme Court. He has also worked as an Arbitrator and Short Trail Judge for the Clark County District Court since 1992, and as Founding Partner for Christensen Law since 1984.

Christensen does not have a campaign website.

— Kristina (Kris) Pickering is running for re-election for the Seat B Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. She began a term as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 2013, and served until 2014. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1974 and a J.D. from the University of California Davis King Hall School of Law in 1977. She was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2008. She serves as a co-chair of the Nevada Access to Justice Commission, which describes its mission as “improving the ability of all Nevadans, particularly those of modest means, to utilize Nevada’s legal system by improving the delivery and funding of legal services programs, pro bono services, and self help services.”

You can learn more about Pickering here.

— Esther Rodriguez is running for election for the Seat B Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. She attended Stanford University and received a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies in 1989. She also received a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University in 1988. She attended Tulane Law School in New Orleans and received her J.D. in 1997.

To learn more about Rodriguez, you can view her public application here.

Nevada Supreme Court Seat D Judge Candidates:

— Ozzie Fumo is currently a member of the Nevada State Assembly representing District 21. He is running for election for the Seat D Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. During the 2019-2020 session he was assigned to the Judiciary Committee, the Legislative Operations and Elections Committee, and the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining Committee. During 2017 he served on the Corrections, Parole and Probation Committee, the Education Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Transportation Committee.

For more information on Fumo, visit his campaign website here.

— Douglas Herndon has been a judge for Department 3 of the Nevada 8th Judicial District Court since 2005, and his term ends on Jan. 3, 2021. He is running for election for the Seat D Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. He received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 1986 and his J.D. in 1990 from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. Prior to working in the district court, he was the Chief Deputy District Attorney in charge of the Special Victim’s Unit.

For more information on Herndon, you can visit his campaign website here.

— Erv Nelson is running for election for the Seat D Judge of the Nevada Supreme Court. He was a member of the Nevada State Assembly beginning in 2015, and left his office one year later in 2016. During the 2015 legislative session, he served on the Commerce and Labor Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Taxation Committee.

Nelson does not have a campaign page.

Nevada's primary election will take place on June 9, 2020.