Former Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Rose dies

Former Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Rose died Monday in Reno. He was 82.

Rose served three terms — 18 years — on the high court and retired in 2006. Bill Gang, his longtime friend and former public information officer for the Nevada Supreme Court, called Rose the “father of the modern judiciary in Nevada.”

In a tweet on Tuesday, Gov. Steve Sisolak said he and his wife, Kathy, were saddened to learn that Rose, who also served as lieutenant governor, had died.

“He gave so much to our State throughout his life,” the governor wrote. “We are sending our condolences and best wishes to his family during this difficult time.”

Gang said Rose had a recent surgery in Los Angeles and returned to Reno, where he died Monday.

Gang said Rose was in his 80s.

Rose began as a law clerk at the Nevada Supreme Court in the mid-1960s. He was elected Washoe County district attorney in 1970 and was elected the state’s lieutenant governor four years later, according to the 2006 Nevada Judiciary Annual Report.

Rose, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor for one term and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1978 against then-Attorney General Robert List.

In 1986, Rose was appointed to District Court in Clark County. He was elected to the state Supreme Court in 1988 and served three terms before his retirement.

“It’s time to pursue some private interests,” he said in 2003, when he announced his plan to retire. “I’d like to travel more, do more golf and fishing. I plan to either go on senior status or do arbitration mediation on a private basis, working part time.”

Gang touted Rose’s influence on the court, which included creating the Urban Workload Assessment Commission in 1993.

The commission later was known as the Rose Commission and made such recommendations as a merit selection system for judges, consolidation of lower courts, additional judges, strong chief justice systems in urban courts, and lowered penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to the report.

Rose also co-chaired the Jury Improvement Commission, which helped raise pay for jurors and gave them the right to ask questions of witnesses during trials.

Retired Senior Judge Nancy Oesterle was appointed to Las Vegas Justice Court in 1989 and considered Rose a mentor and role model for her and many other judges.

“He was a big champion for women in the judiciary,” Oesterle said.

She was the first woman appointed to the Las Vegas Justice Court bench and the second woman to be a judge in that court, 11 years after Miriam Shearing was elected as a Las Vegas Justice Court judge. Shearing went on to serve on the Nevada Supreme Court.

Oesterle said Rose taught her the importance of public service and encouraged her to become a senior judge after her retirement in 2011.

“He was such a great guy,” Oesterle said. “It’s a very sad time for the Nevada judiciary with his passing.”

Former Nevada Supreme Court Justice Mark Gibbons served with Rose from 2003-2006 and retired from the bench in 2021.

Gibbons met Rose when ran for governor. He said that despite Rose being a former prosecutor he was always concerned that people accused of crimes were properly represented.

While lieutenant governor, Rose broke a deadlock in the Nevada State Senate to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which needed approval from three quarters of the country’s state legislatures.

The measure failed in the Nevada State Assembly. Gibbons said some believed Rose’s vote cost him the governorship in 1978. Gibbons said Rose was proud of casting that vote despite it being controversial at the time.

Gibbons described Rose as “calm and cool and always professional,” on the bench and respected by all.

“When he spoke, we listened,” Gibbons said.

Former Nevada Supreme Court Justice William Maupin served on the bench with Rose for eight years. He said Rose played no favorites and was always forward looking when it came to the administrative side of the court.

“He was my friend, he was my colleague and he was a great Nevadan and great member of the Supreme Court,” Maupin said.

Maupin called Rose and Shearing two of the most important justices in the state’s history.

“He was a resource for anyone who wanted to talk about how you systematically deal with the nature of the legal system, which is too busy and too slow,” Maupin said.

He said Rose welcomed him to the court with open arms and taught him the “judge business.”

“He was a mentor and a role model all my career,” Maupin said.

Maupin and Gibbons touted Rose’s role in creating business court, a subdivision of the state’s district court system. Gibbons said Nevada’s business court is unique to the rest of the country which typically has the legislature deal with business disputes statutorily.

Maupin said Nevada’s business court has made the state more desirable to new businesses and helped with resolving business disputes.

“He was able to show us what a really ethical, hard-working judge looks like,” Oesterle said.

Rose is survived by his wife, Jolene. Gang said Tuesday that funeral plans had not been made.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.

This story has been updated to correct information about the background of Nancy Oesterle and Miriam Shearing.