Judging the Judges: Newcomers to Las Vegas bench raise retention score average

What a difference an election makes.

A year ago, two Las Vegas Municipal Court judges had retention scores as low as any judge in the Review-Journal's Judicial Performance Evaluation.

Now, with those two judges, George Assad and Elizabeth Kolkoski, off the bench, the mean retention score of that court's judges jumped from 71 percent to 81 percent.

Chief Judge Cynthia Leung declined to focus on those past poor survey performances but said there is a new cohesiveness among the judges that wasn't there before.

"We all respect each other," she said. "We are a cohesive court because we communicate well with each other."

Leung added that "the two new judges we have on board are fantastic."

Judge Heidi Almase defeated Assad in citywide elections last summer. Judge Susan Roger defeated a popular defense attorney to take over for Kolkoski, who retired.

Attorneys participating in the survey cited Almase's work ethic and fair nature. They also praised her for not being Assad. "(So) much better than her predecessor," was one comment.

She received a retention score of 82 percent from the 61 lawyers who evaluated her. In 2010, only 31 percent said Assad should be retained.

Almase said she has sought to speed up some aspects of her court, including scheduling court dates. She began addressing the issue months ago after receiving some comments from attorneys about the amount of time lawyers were spending in her court.

She's also focused on making sure people feel like they got a "fair shot," regardless of her ruling.

The other new judge, Roger, received a 65 percent retention rating from 72 attorneys. It was the lowest among the Municipal Court judges but still above her predecessor's.

Some attorneys seemed to take issue with Roger being a former prosecutor, while others focused their comments on Roger's husband, retiring Clark County District Attorney David Roger.

"It's hard to separate Roger from her husband," one lawyer commented.

Other attorneys said they were impressed with how quickly she was able to take command of the judgeship. "Amazingly strong for a new judge," wrote another lawyer.

Roger said she was pleased to see numerous comments about her fairness as a judge and believes that with time lawyers who see her as a prosecutor will change their tune.

"There are some people who haven't forgotten I'm a former prosecutor for 11 years. ... I do have that relationship with the district attorney, and that probably enforces their perception as well," she said.

Both Roger and Almase said they appreciated the help they've received from the senior judges on the court.

Chief Judge Leung said the mentoring she received from veteran judges was essential when she joined the court, explaining that "this job can be very isolating at times."

Both Bert Brown and Cedric Kerns received similar retention rates to those in the past, with Brown scoring highest among all the Municipal Court judges -- 92 percent from 104 attorneys.

Brown said he tries to be punctual and patient and to explain himself so that everyone understands his ruling, even if it's not in their favor.

Kerns, who garnered an 81 percent retention rate from 123 lawyers, said, "What gets you a really good score is to be prepared, be on time, and be polite."

Kerns said that one place he can improve is to give attorneys more time during their arguments.

Several attorneys interpreted Kerns as being harsh. Kerns said it's something he hopes to improve on.

"Maybe I'm a little short sometimes," he said. "But we have to get the calendar moving."

Martin Hastings received positive scores in the survey and an 87 percent retention rate from 91 lawyers who rated him. He was out of the country and unavailable for an interview.

Municipal Court elections are held in odd-numbered years, and the earliest any of the six Las Vegas judges are due to face voters is 2015.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at
fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.