The Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current)
Former Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum says she didn’t know in 2022, after losing the seat she held for 12 years, if she’d ever run again.
Just days before the 2022 election, a photo surfaced of Baucum and other candidates in nonpartisan races with then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo. The photo cost Baucum an endorsement from Culinary Local 226, which supported Lombardo’s opponent, then-Gov. Steve Sisolak.
“When you’re asked to take a photo, you take a photo,” she told the Current during a recent interview. “I had no idea that campaign signs went up in the back. I’m not going to say the loss was because of Culinary or anything else. I worked as hard as I could. I had great endorsements. I was in the community every single day. I did a great job as a judge, and I’d like to have the opportunity to do it again.”
Baucum says after her defeat she was offered a job by District Attorney Steve Wolfson to serve as a prosecutor in the juvenile welfare division, where she is responsible for protecting the interests of abused and neglected children.
“The subject matter can be difficult at times, but I did juvenile child welfare work early in my career,” she said, adding she’s been “asked multiple times ‘Will you run again? Are you interested in this appointment or that appointment?’”
When Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa-Stratton announced she’d resign on July 1 from Dept. 4, Baucum “gave it a hard look” and decided to run in the abbreviated special election. “I’ve always been passionate about that court and serving our community.”
Baucum has long been said to be interested in running for state office – namely governor. She declined to deny it. “I’m not confirming it either.”
Holly Stoberski, appointed in 2010 by the Clark County Commission as a Justice of the Peace Pro Tem, essentially a substitute judge, gave up a decades-long career in private practice to devote more time to the bench. She took a pass on previous opportunities to run because she’d have to take a year-long break from serving.
“When I heard that it was going to be an open seat, meaning anyone could throw their name in the hat and not have a primary, which means, in theory, someone with 21% of the vote can become an elected judge for the next four years, I simply could not sit back,” she told the Current.
“For the past 14 years, I have covered every department in Justice Court, not only in Las Vegas, but also Henderson and in North Las Vegas,” she said. “That includes specialty courts such as drug court, domestic violence court, DUI, small claims, traffic, residential evictions, preliminary hearings, civil trials, bail hearings, you name it.”
Stoberski says she’d like to expand Justice Court’s use of pre-prosecution diversion programs, which allow defendants without a record to complete requirements, such as obtaining a driver’s license, show proof of job interviews, or perform community service. “Show me you’re doing better and the court will have your record sealed.”
Stoberski says she primarily practiced civil law as an attorney. “The limited amount of criminal practice that I did have involved pro bono cases.”
Clark County Chief Deputy Public Defender Jessica Smith-Peterson had just returned from maternity leave following the birth of her second child when the opening on Justice Court surfaced.
“I was advocating on behalf of clients and I was getting frustrated. I felt like I was articulating the experiences of clients to our judges – some who understood, some who didn’t,” she said, recalling her seven years as a public defender. The opportunity to seek an open seat “kind of clicked, like very kismet.”
Smith-Peterson attended UCLA and earned her law degree at Howard University. She gained civil experience working as a law clerk for the ACLU.
She says defense attorneys have a “skill set that I think would fare well on the bench – having compassion and caring for people. We are the ones who talk to clients, judges, correction officers, families, and sometimes we talk to victims. I think a Justice of the Peace is a servant to the community.”
Longtime attorney and former University System Regent James Dean Leavitt has run unsuccessfully for judge twice. Following his defeat in 2018 and a chronic battle with depression, Leavitt shot himself in the head. He says it was an accidental discharge.
Asked in a questionnaire on Ballotpedia what has been a struggle in his life, Leavitt responded “Depression.”
“Well, it was honest,” he said of his response. “It might not have been smart.”
Leavitt says his goal is to make courts efficient. His primary policy focus is criminal defense reform. “Overall, I think we’re probably too soft on violent crime,” adding as a defense attorney, he’s secured probation for clients “more often than what was warranted.”
He says he was attracted to the Justice Court race because of the abbreviated campaign of a special election.
“Those are much shorter and less work than the regular seats,” he said. His opponents “all look very accomplished. I’ve practiced longer, just by virtue of my age.”
A fifth candidate, Hilary Heap, a Clark County Deputy District Attorney for 12 years, earned her law degree at Boyd School of Law.
She worked in the Juvenile Justice Clinic where she defended children facing delinquency charges, according to her website. She won approval from court officials to allow non-violent children in custody to appear in court without shackles.
Most recently, Heap prosecuted cases in Resort Corridor Court against defendants who repeatedly trespassed or committed crimes on the Las Vegas Strip.
She declined to be interviewed for this story.
Company town
A recent decision by the Justices of the Peace to do away with the Resort Corridor Court and spread the cases among eight departments drew protests from Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill, District Attorney Steve Wolfson, and Nevada Resort Association president Virginia Valentine.
“The fact that the same judge, same prosecutor, and same public defender see the defendant is critically important,” the three wrote in August to the court administrator, urging the court to reconsider and noting the purpose of the court was “to make the corridor safer for visitors and employees, to prevent repeat trespassers from returning to the corridor, and to interrupt the escalation of criminal offenders from committing misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and felonies.”
The letter says violent crime dropped in Metro’s Convention Center Area Command by 43% from October through December 2023 over the same period in 2022, and by 29% when comparing February through April of 2024 with the previous year.
“The stakeholders are taking the position that this is going to increase violent crime because now it’s being split up among at least eight other criminal departments,” says Stoberski, who questions the assertion, noting the County’s “order out” ordinance, which allows police to ban people convicted of crimes from the Strip for a year, remains in place.
Stoberski says she’s heard members of the public complain crime is getting pushed into their Strip-adjacent neighborhoods. She also questions the constitutionality of restricting freedom of movement, an issue raised by the ACLU of Nevada.
“Homeless people tell us they stay on the Strip because it’s well-lit with a large police presence. They feel safe,” she said. She also questions the potential disparate treatment of defendants based on the location of their alleged crime. “If someone gets a simple battery charge at a bagel shop on Rampart, is that person getting the same punishment as a person charged with simple battery on the Strip?”
“Having one or two departments handle those matters does give consistency in rulings,” says Baucum. “And while each case has to be handled on a case by case analysis, I do believe that consistency is important. You become familiar with the faces. You know their history and special needs.”
“I think the eight courts that are going to have the cases will remain consistent in regards to how they are handled,” said Smith-Peterson, whose husband is the attorney for the ACLU of Nevada. “It also allows the attorney teams handling the cases to spread them out.”
Leavitt says he doesn’t have an opinion on whether the cases should be consolidated, but questions the constitutionality of the ability to order people out of the resort corridor.
“I think it’s appropriate, but what’s interesting is a lot of the individuals getting these citations – whether they’re vagrants or panhandlers – where are you ordering them to? Scotch 80s?” he asks, referencing the gated neighborhood that is home to Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.
Remote hearings
Telephonic hearings were around before the pandemic, but COVID made remote appearances a necessity – and an option that remains widely used today.
“I think remote hearings provide flexibility to the courts, attorneys, and the clients,” Smith-Peterson said. “It also supports clients in criminal matters if they’re at work or physically unable to appear to make representations. I believe that as long as there are clear rules on when remote appearances are appropriate, they are a benefit.”
“I think they should be offered in most cases,” said Leavitt. “In a perfect world, everyone is there live. Certainly body language and things like that can get lost with remote hearings. It can be hard to assess credibility.”
Stoberski says she’s had to stop proceedings because a litigant is driving while speaking to the court.
“I am not opposed to appearing in court telephonically, but that has to be underscored on an individual basis, and depending on the nature of the appearance,” says Stoberski, adding it’s helpful to tourists who have returned home, and litigants who have transportation challenges. “I have no problem as long as the court is able to understand the arguments being made, and the court does not violate anybody’s constitutional rights.”
In 2022, a defendant in Baucum’s court alleged the judge violated his rights when he was prevented from remotely viewing the proceedings against him, as was this reporter.
“It was not intentional on my part,” Baucum said. “I did not have control of the buttons, and I’m not trying to push it off onto somebody else.”
Baucum says she prefers in-person court, and agrees with Leavitt that evaluating credibility remotely can be a challenge. “I know it’s been beneficial for a lot of people for whom it’s hard to get to court, but being in-person is the most important factor.”
Candidates in this year’s special election have not yet been required to file campaign contribution and expense reports.
Early voting begins Oct. 19. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.