Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) announced the members of two bipartisan judicial commissions to interview and recommend candidates for Nevada’s federal judicial vacancies. The commissions include diverse and bipartisan representatives from the legal community across Nevada.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that the voices of Nevadans are reflected in the federal judicial nomination process, and our two bipartisan judicial commissions will guarantee just that,” said the Senators. “The commissions are made up of a diverse group of legal minds from across Nevada and will vet candidates, review applications and conduct interviews to ensure that Nevada’s nominees to the federal bench are selected through a fair and independent process.”
The bipartisan commissions were established by Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen in 2019 and their membership has been updated for the 117th Congress. The two commissions, one in southern Nevada and one in northern Nevada, will be responsible for interviewing applicants and submitting to the Senators the names of candidates deemed qualified for the federal bench. Traditionally, U.S. Senators confer with the White House and propose candidates for the President to nominate to fill judicial vacancies in their home state. These commissions are modeled after similar processes used in other states.
Members:
The Southern Nevada Judicial Commission members are:
- Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (Chair)
- W. West Allen, Partner at Howard & Howard LLP, National President of the Federal Bar Association
- John R. Bailey, Partner at Bailey & Kennedy LLP
- Maximiliano Couvillier, Partner at Kennedy & Couvillier
- Daniel W. Hamilton, Dean of UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law
- Marisa Rodriguez, Senior Deputy City Attorney for the City of North Las Vegas
- Lori Teicher, First Assistant Federal Public Defender, District of Nevada
The Northern Nevada Judicial Commission members are:
- Frankie Sue Del Papa, former Nevada Attorney General (Chair)
- Zelalem Bogale, Senior In-House Counsel for NV Energy and adjunct professor at University of Nevada, Reno
- Josh Hicks, Partner at McDonald Carano
- Michael Alonso, President of Alonso Law Limited
- A. William Maupin, Retired Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Nevada
- Matthew L. Sharp, Partner at Matthew Sharp LLP
- Veronica Chavez, Deputy Public Defender, Washoe County Public Defender’s Office
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