Former District Judge John Mendoza dies at 83
Former District Judge John Mendoza, who championed children’s rights during a lifetime of distinguished public service, died Tuesday after a short illness. He was 83.
“He was a brilliant man,” said attorney Eva Garcia-Mendoza, his wife of 24 years. “He always fought for the little guy.”
News of Mendoza’s death, which occurred while his family was at his side, surfaced at the Regional Justice Center in an email circulated among the judges.
Mendoza, who served on the District Court bench from 1967 to 1991, is credited with reshaping Clark County’s juvenile justice system in the 1970s into a model for the nation.
He is regarded as one of the founders of CASA, a national program that provides court-appointed advocates to represent the interests of abused and neglected children.
In honor of CASA’s 30th anniversary last year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., paid tribute on the floor of the Senate to Mendoza, a former president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
“During his career, Judge Mendoza recognized the desperate need for skilled and timely decision-making in the lives of abused, neglected and abandoned children, not only in Nevada but across the country,” Reid told his colleagues. “He held caseworkers responsible for the children they represented and answerable to the court for the decisions they made.”
Reid said Mendoza pushed for national guidelines for improving court practices in child protective cases.
“His passion was protecting the rights of juveniles,” said Las Vegas Municipal Court Administrator Jim Carmany, who worked with Mendoza in the 1970s as administrator of juvenile court. “He clearly left his mark on the juvenile justice system.”
Senior District Judge James Brennan, who served on the bench with Mendoza, described his colleague as a “very intelligent fellow” who had a reputation as a “no-nonsense” judge.
Off the bench, however, his former friends and colleagues said Mendoza was caring and fun-loving.
“He cared a great deal about people, especially children,” Carmany said.
Garcia-Mendoza said her husband also helped create the court interpreter system in Clark County, working closely with her as the court’s first interpreter. She ended up going to law school and clerking for Mendoza and eventually marrying him.
District Judge Valorie Vega, who succeeded Garcia-Mendoza as supervisor of court interpreters, said she considered Mendoza a mentor who encouraged her to go to law school.
“He was a good mentor to a lot of young lawyers,” Vega said. “He was a remarkable person who came from very humble beginnings and worked very hard on his academics. I am very much going to miss him.”
Mendoza received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame and was a lifelong fan of its athletic programs. He once was named the university’s “Man of the Year.”
Before being elected to the bench in 1966, Mendoza served as Clark County’s district attorney, city attorney in North Las Vegas and a Las Vegas justice of the peace.
After his days as a judge, Mendoza served stints as chairman of both the Nevada Public Service Commission and the Nevada Transportation Service Authority. The Nevada Supreme Court later appointed him as an arbitrator and settlement judge for the court.
Services for Mendoza are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St. Viewing will be Friday at Palm Mortuary from 3 to 7 p.m.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
