By Hon. David S. Gibson, Jr.
I was recently informed that on December 11, 2024, outside normal business hours, at 7:59 a.m., I processed the one-millionth order in the Eighth Judicial District Court via Order in the Court (OIC). OIC was launched in April 2020, in response to innovative efforts by the district court to continue to effectively review and process orders despite pandemic restrictions on physical contact. The first order processed in OIC was processed by another family division judge, Hon. Charles Hoskin, also outside normal business hours. I include this information to demonstrate that our family division judges work very hard and, in many cases, around the clock, to promote diligent and efficient service to the public. One million orders in just over four years, with several of those years under pandemic restrictions, is no small feat.
Serving the public diligently and efficiently is a core value of the Eighth Judicial District Court. We are particularly mindful of it in the family division. Families in conflict and distress need timely attention and resolution to their court-involved experience. They need easy access to the courts. Other pandemic-driven innovations, like electronic document submission and service and virtual court appearances, have persisted beyond the pandemic to create a new way of conducting the business of family court. And more innovation continues.
Recent changes in delinquency leadership, with Judge Linda Marquis as the lead, have unified dependency courtroom procedures and decreased juvenile detention populations.
Recent restructuring of guardianship calendars, via split dockets, has given guardianship stakeholders access to additional experience; through the hard work of Judges Denise Gentile, Bryce Duckworth, Stacy Rocheleau, and Dawn Throne. The reassignment of related domestic cases to juvenile dependency caseloads—under Judges Cynthia Giuliani, Robert Teuton, Ronda Forsberg, Margaret Pickard, Sunny Bailey, and myself—has furthered our goal to have as many issues involving one family being heard by one judge. These structural innovations pave the way for further expansion of split dockets, to guard against the loss of specialized institutional knowledge through retirements or other changes in the makeup of the family court bench.
Most recently, Judge Gregory Gordon spearheaded piloting informal trials in family court to better and more efficiently serve the large percentage of self-represented litigants we have in Clark County.
I have only named a few of our dedicated family division judges here, but all continue to contribute their experience and ideas to better the services we offer to the public—despite consistently having some of the largest caseloads per judge of nearly any comparable population across the country. It is our duty and honor to do so, and I am honored to preside in the Eighth Judicial District Court, Family Division.
About the author
Judge David S. Gibson, Jr. was appointed to the Eighth Judicial District Court, Family Division on Nov. 20, 2018, by former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. Prior to his appointment, Judge Gibson worked for six years as a juvenile dependency hearing master in the court’s family division. In January 2023, Judge Gibson began to serve as presiding judge over the family division, and he currently serves on several committees.
About the article
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Mar. 2025), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2025/communique-mar-2025/. The printed magazine was mailed to CCBA members the week of March 4, 2025.
The articles and advertisements appearing in Communiqué magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CCBA, the CCBA Publications Committee, the editorial board, or the other authors. All legal and other issues discussed are not for the purpose of answering specific legal questions. Attorneys and others are strongly advised to independently research all issues.
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