Nevada Supreme Court candidates discuss roles on bench

A District Court judge and a Nevada appellate court judge vying for a seat on the state’s high court delved Friday into their potential roles.

At a Federalist Society forum moderated by Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, Clark County District Judge Elissa Cadish and Appeals Court Judge Jerry Tao showed a bit of their lighter sides while explaining their desire to join the state Supreme Court.

Cadish called herself a “law geek” while Tao referred to himself as a “super law nerd.”

“It’s obviously important to have folks on that court who are going to put in the time to do the research, review the record in detail and rule based on the facts and the law,” Cadish said.

Tao told the crowd of more than 50 people at the Fogo De Chao Churrascaria Restaurant on East Flamingo Road: “I’m literally the guy who reads law review articles in my spare time for fun because I think they’re interesting.”

Both vowed to work on reducing the time it takes for the Supreme Court to rule.

Cadish, 53, has served as a judge in Las Vegas since 2007. Tao, 50, who was appointed in 2014 to the Nevada Court of Appeals, sat on the District Court bench from 2011 until he was appointed to the higher court.

Tao and Cadish are facing each other in the Nov. 6 election for the seat that will be vacated by retiring Justice Michael Cherry.

Asked about the most impactful case she has handled, Cadish referred to a petition to release Fred Steese, who spent more than 21 years in prison for a 1992 killing he did not commit.

“It’s only if you have a judge who takes the time and effort to listen to everything, to consider the possibility that someone who is charged is not guilty of that charge,” Cadish said. “Only if you have someone with an open mind will they be able to find that one case.”

Tao said he found it difficult to single out one particular case of the roughly 3,000 he has handled but pointed to the fact that he often writes dissenting opinions in court decisions. He referred to the high court addressing separation of powers among the branches of government.

“The Nevada Supreme Court, to me, has not been as attentive to separation of power issues as it should have been,” Tao said. “What I’ve been trying to do on the Court of Appeals is kind of resurrect that. … It’s a shot at restoring what I think the role of the courts should be.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.