James Hardesty won’t seek 4th term on Nevada Supreme Court

CARSON CITY — Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice James Hardesty volition not question a 4th word connected the state’s highest tribunal and volition discontinue aft 24 years successful judicial robes erstwhile his existent word expires astatine the extremity of 2022, the justness announced Tuesday.

“The Nevada Judiciary has experienced overmuch maturation during my tenure connected the bench,” the-72-year-old jurist said successful a statement. First elected to the seat successful 1998, helium joined the Supreme Court successful 2004.

Hardesty cited his relation pushing to make the authorities Court of Appeals, a determination that failed to triumph the enactment of voters successful 4 abstracted referendums earlier it was yet approved successful 2014. The appellate tribunal takes referrals from Supreme Court, proceeding astir one-third of the precocious court’s cases.

Hardesty besides cited operation of a caller appellate courthouse successful Las Vegas, efforts to money “courthouse and exertion improvements passim the state” and enlargement of a programme that “that accrued backing to ineligible assistance organizations tenfold.”

“In addition, I had the accidental to betterment the guardianship system, beforehand transgression justness reforms, and writer implicit 350 published opinions connected Nevada law,” Hardesty said. He thanked his woman and family, his judicial adjunct of much than 20 years, 42 instrumentality clerks, tribunal unit and different supporters who ”helped maine execute the nonrecreational acquisition of a lifetime.”

A University of Nevada, Reno postgraduate and Reno native, Hardesty went into backstage signifier determination aft graduating from University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law successful 1975. He remained successful backstage signifier until helium was elected to the Second District Court seat successful Washoe County successful 1998. He was named main justice by his chap judges successful 2001 and again successful 2003.

On the Washoe District Court, too implementing programs to chopped incarceration costs and docket delays, Hardesty expanded cause diversion tribunal and different specialty courts and oversaw a judicial fund for 19 judicial officers and astir 170 employees, according to his authoritative biography.

He was elected to authorities Supreme Court successful 2004, served his archetypal two-year word arsenic main justness successful 2009. He was named to the rotating main justness station again successful 2015 and astatine the commencement of 2021.

Among the court’s caller important decisions, Hardesty authored an sentiment successful May upholding a little court’s ruling that recovered 2 captious gross bills passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature successful 2019 unconstitutional due to the fact that they failed to get the required two-thirds supermajority successful some houses.

Writing for a unanimous court, Hardesty recovered the state’s statement for constitutionality “unconvincing.”

Contact Capital Bureau newsman Bill Dentzer astatine bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews connected Twitter.