A ballot question that would allow North Las Vegas voters to decide if all municipal court candidates should be required to hold a law degree will make its way to the ballot this November.
If passed, the item would bring down the city's potential number of candidates from approximately 180,000 to 70, the number of people in North Las Vegas, who, according to the State Bar of Nevada, can practice law in the state.
"We are the largest growing city in the country and will soon surpass Reno as the state's third largest," said Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, who authored the bill that served as a catalyst for the ballot question. "Every other city of our size, including Sparks, has this mandate. I think it's about time we put someone with the proper education and qualifications on the bench."
Lee said that he believes just as with justice court judges, basic education requirements should exist for North Las Vegas Municipal Court judge positions.
The ballot question will be presented with arguments both for and against the bill, presented in a written format by residents chosen by the North Las Vegas City Council to prepare the arguments.
Dick Sadler and Marta McKenzie are two residents who were chosen to be part of the Opposing Ballot Question Committee. Since April, the groups, which consist of three residents each, have been working to collect information to prop up their arguments. That information was submitted to city officials for fact-checking purposes in mid-June.
"I'm definitely opposed to the idea that these judges should have to hold law degrees," McKenzie said. "It's a step in the direction of diminishing our freedoms as citizens of this country."
McKenzie said that holding a law degree doesn't make a person good judge material.
"It takes common sense, integrity and a host of other qualities that have nothing to do with holding a degree," she said. "For the right person, you could be a former school teacher and be a great judge. Or a stay-at-home mom, for that matter."
For Sadler, approval of the ballot question would create a public interest group, a reality that he's not prepared to endure.
"Right now, if you're 18 and a resident of North Las Vegas, you can run," Sadler said. "If the ballot question is approved, that won't be the case."
Sadler said he has attempted to discuss the issue with Lee on various occasions, but has been met with the same answers.
"I feel like more and more of our rights are being taken away," Sadler said. "And the senator won't answer my questions. What makes them (lawyers) any better than us? Just because someone can't afford law school, they shouldn't be afforded the opportunity to be an elected official? Come on. Are senators required to hold law degrees?"
Municipal court judges preside over traffic ticket and drunken driving proceedings where there has been no damage to property or bodily injuries, cases that, according to Sadler, don't require a thorough knowledge of the law.
"There's always county staff attorneys available for questions," Sadler said. "But for the most part, it's common sense. It's having a good head on your shoulders."
According to Lee, North Las Vegas Municipal Courts do not have a city attorney present during proceedings, and judges are left to lean upon their own knowledge and interpretations of the law.
"It's the point I've been making all along," Lee said. "There's no room for a learning curve here."
The two current North Las Vegas Municipal Court judges both have a background in law, but one spent an entire career enforcing the law, while the other studied courtroom law and passed the bar in 1996.
Judge Sean Hoeffgen graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law and was elected to the judgeship in 2005.
Judge Warren VanLandschoot, a veteran North Las Vegas police officer, was elected in 1997 and will be grandfathered in should the ballot question be approved in the November election.
Neither judge returned calls for comment.
"The population of North Las Vegas is much more substantial, creating heavier court loads, than in the past," Lee said.
According to Lee, it was after the 2005 election that he began to entertain the idea of changing the law.
"I figured we need people with judicial experience in the position," he said.
In an effort to learn more about the topic, Lee attended the course required for all municipal court judges at the Judicial College in Reno.
The two-week long specialized course serves as a preparatory boost for elected judges who don't hold law degrees, most of whom serve in rural communities, according to Lee.
"I paid my own way," Lee said. "I wanted to see just how much the course prepares our judges and if it really gives them the kind of head start that they would need in a city like North Las Vegas."
After passing the course, Lee said he was all the more convinced that large communities should require elected officials to uphold minimum education requirements.
"So many people go through our courts, judges need to be on top of their game from day one," Lee said. "There's no do-over here. You're talking about people's lives."
According to Lee, standards set by city officials in the past are no longer applicable.
"There's no time for a learning curve now," Lee said. "No time for a judge to take years to get up to speed."
In the last election, Lee said he had the feeling that a horse could have been elected had it been of the right political affiliation or had the right last name.
"When decisions are based on politics and not qualifications, the public pays," Lee said. "We're stuck with someone who is incompetent for at least four years. And I don't think that's a paradigm we want."
Not all attorneys will make good judges, Lee said. But, with North Las Vegas Municipal Court judges raking in $147,000 per year, Lee said he believes that there should be some qualifiers for the position.
Residents such as Sharon Paulson and Lyvette Davidson said they favor changing the law.
"In my mind, it only makes sense," Paulson said. "It doesn't matter how seemingly small an issue may be, why would you put someone without an education in a job like that? You have to be qualified to hold any other job. Why is this any different?"
Davidson said she would feel better knowing that the person presiding over city affairs had not just the proper education, but years of experience.
"I can't believe that this wasn't a stipulation to begin with," she said. "I want to know that my elected officials are qualified to be there, that they have experience."
Lee said the proposed ballot question has been met with support from both community members and colleagues.
"The feeling among my colleagues at the state level and most of the people that I've spoken with in North Las Vegas, is that this is needed," Lee said. "There needs to be minimum requirements for somebody who sits on a bench to decide the fates of others. They need to have a basic understanding of our laws."
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