FAMILY COURT J
July 27, 2008 - 9:00 pm
Family Court Judge Lisa Kent's poor scores on judicial performance surveys have spurred four attorneys to challenge her this year.
In the 2006 Judicial Performance Evaluation, responding lawyers rated her the worst judge. Only 29 percent said she should be retained. The poll is conducted every two years.
This year, 36 percent of the respondents said Kent should be retained. Only District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, who has been suspended from the bench because of misconduct allegations, fared worse on that question.
"I just think Department J needs some improvement," said candidate Jamie Kent, who is not related to the incumbent.
Lisa Kent was elected as Lisa Brown in 2000, the year her seat was created. She ran again in 2002 for a full six-year term.
The judge changed her name after her marriage in June 2006 and has retained the Kent surname since her divorce in October.
She said she believes Jamie Kent chose to run against her because the two have the same last name.
"I think it is creating confusion," the judge said.
Jamie Kent said he chose to challenge Lisa Kent because he thought her department was the one that needed "a qualified candidate," not because he thought he would benefit from having the same surname. In fact, he said, he feared voters would associate his name with Lisa Kent's low ratings on the surveys.
The shared surnames actually could help Lisa Kent. Election officials have determined that her name will appear first on the ballot, rather than in alphabetical order, and that the word "incumbent" will be placed in parentheses after her name.
Earlier this year, Jamie Kent and two other candidates in the race, Michele "Shell" Mercer and Kenneth Pollock, unsuccessfully sought an injunction that would have barred officials from making those modifications to the ballot. Other incumbents will not be labeled as such on the ballot.
Lisa Kent, 43, said her scores on the judicial surveys are not indicative of her performance on the bench.
Instead, she pointed to case activity statistics for 2007, which showed that she spent more days in trial and more days hearing motions than any of the other 11 Family Court judges.
"I stand by my record, and I stand by how hard I work," she said.
Jamie Kent, 43, said the complaint he hears most often about Lisa Kent is that she takes too long to resolve cases.
Another candidate in the race, Morrisa Schechtman, said, "People do have trouble getting decisions out of her."
Jamie Kent, Schechtman and Mercer all are running for office for the first time. Judicial races are nonpartisan.
Pollock ran unsuccessfully against District Judge Donald Mosley in 2002. He ran unsuccessfully in 2006 for a seat in Las Vegas Justice Court.
Schechtman, 48, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1991 and said she has practiced family law exclusively ever since.
Lisa Kent also became licensed in Nevada in 1991.
She primarily practiced family law from 1992 to 1997. She then practiced in Family Court as a deputy attorney general.
Jamie Kent has been licensed in Nevada since 1993. He primarily practices family law.
Mercer, 46, had a career in television news production before she decided to go to law school. She has been licensed in Nevada since 1998 and primarily has practiced family law for the past three years.
Pollock, 43, has been licensed to practice law in Nevada since 1998. He previously practiced law for about seven years in California.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
VOTERS GUIDEFAMILY COURT DUTIES
Family Court judges rule on domestic matters, including divorces and child custody cases. The court opened in 1993 as a division of Clark County District Court. Family Court judges serve six-year terms and are paid a base salary of $130,000 a year. Candidates who prevail in this year's election will be paid an annual base salary of $160,000. The judgeships are nonpartisan offices.
-- REVIEW-JOURNAL