In conjunction with the court’s annual case reassignments, various changes became effective on January 31, 2022. These changes are highlighted below.
- Dept. 1 now handles the Initial Appearance Court calendar from Dept. 9. These cases will be heard by Judge Elana Graham in courtroom Lower-Level B (LLB).
- Dept. 6 will remain vacant for the time being, with pro tems scheduled to cover the Civil calendar. Courtroom 6D will hear the cases from Dept. 6 until the courtroom buildout for courtroom 6B is completed (with a tentative completion date of March 9, 2022). Additionally, Judge Cybill Dotson in Department 10 now handles the Community Court calendar from Department 6.
- Dept. 8 now handles the DUI Calendar from Judge Baucum in Dept. 13. Judge Ann Zimmerman in courtroom 1B will hear these cases.
- Dept. 9 now handles the Criminal calendar from Judge Zimmerman in Dept. 8. Judge Joe Bonaventure in courtroom 6A will hear these cases.
- Dept. 10 now handles the DV Calendar from Judge Graham in Dept. 1. Judge Cybill Dotson in courtroom 7D will hear these cases until the courtroom buildout for courtroom 1D is completed (with a tentative completion date of April 21, 2022).
- Dept. 13 now handles the Criminal calendar from Judge Dotson in Dept. 10. Judge Suzan Baucum in courtroom 6D will hear these cases.
- Traffic cases are now heard in courtroom 6C.
- Eviction cases are now heard in courtroom 8D.
- Small Claims cases will be heard in the afternoon in courtroom 1B, when that calendar resumes in the near future.
Judges with caseloads and courtrooms that remain the same include those listed in the table on page 17.
I am also pleased to announce that the Las Vegas Justice Court’s Customer-Service Windows are now open on the first floor of the Regional Justice Center, Mondays through Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding holidays. The area on the first floor is much more spacious than the previous area on the second floor, and the increased number of windows will allow the court to provide more expedited service to the public.
About the author
Judge Melissa A. Saragosa was appointed to Las Vegas Justice Court Department 4 in 2006.
About this article: This article was originally published in the “Education Law” issue of Communiqué, the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association, (Mar. 2022). See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2022/communique-march-2022/.
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