5 experienced attorneys are competing for one Las Vegas Justice Court seat

Five attorneys are vying to be the judge who hears cases in Las Vegas Justice Court’s Department 4, an open seat.

The candidates are Suzan Baucum, a former judge; Hilary Heap, an experienced prosecutor; James Dean Leavitt, a long-time criminal defense lawyer; Jessica Smith-Peterson, a public defender and Holly Stoberski, a pro tem judge.

The Department 4 position was previously held by Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa-Stratton, who retired earlier this year after over 17 years on the bench.

Suzan Baucum

Baucum spent about 11 years as a Las Vegas justice of the peace, managed a large docket of driving under the influence cases and was the chief judge of the court during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baucum lost her seat in 2022 after the Culinary Union pulled its endorsement of her following a social media post in which she and other judicial candidates posed for a photo with then-gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo.

She’s currently a deputy district attorney and said she mostly represents the Department of Family Services in termination of parental rights cases.

Baucum said she has “the most experience” and knows the inner workings of the court. “I can take the bench day one and whether I would be assigned to traffic tickets, domestic violence cases or a criminal calendar or a civil calendar, I don’t have to have any training,” she said.

Hilary Heap

Heap has been a prosecutor in the Clark County district attorney’s office for the last 13 years. She said she’s worked on appellate cases, high-level drug cartel cases and the general litigation track, which gave her a lot of trial experience.

“I’ve been a reasonable DA my entire career,” she said. “Someone that has always been approachable and accessible. And I want to be able to help the community using those values as well.”

She said Justice Court doesn’t the infrastructure to rehabilitate defendants. She’s seen a lack of interpreters that causes hearings to get continued. She also thinks the court system needs “more of an acceptance and ability to use technology.” She said the resort corridor court was “beneficial” because grouping the cases together allowed stakeholders to help people.

Heap said she is the only candidate with extensive trial experience. “I am the candidate who has the experience being in these courts every single day,” she said.

James Dean Leavitt

Leavitt’s practice is concentrated on criminal defense, he said. He’s run for judge twice, losing both times, and served 12 years on the Nevada Board of Regents.

Asked why he wants to be a judge, he said, “I’m not sure if I’m qualified for anything else. I don’t know if I could get a job being a Walmart greeter.”

His past judicial races have been marked by controversy.

In 2018, his opponent, now-Justice of the Peace Elana Graham publicized Leavitt’s 1998 reckless driving charge that resulted in a yearlong suspension of his license.

In 2022, Metro investigators interviewed Leavitt about unsettling comments he made to a Review-Journal reporter regarding the murder of investigative reporter Jeff German.

Leavitt brought up the murder of investigative reporter Jeff German, who was killed by Robert Telles, a politician whose misconduct German had covered. He then said that journalists “have a responsibility to tell the whole truth” and had not done so in past coverage of him.

“The comment was misinterpreted and (I) wish I could take it back,” he said this week.

Jessica Smith-Peterson

Smith-Peterson is a chief deputy public defender for Clark County’s public defender office covering outlying courts in places like Henderson, North Las Vegas and Laughlin.

As a public defender she has experience dealing with specialty courts, defendants, victims and judges, she said.

“I also know what it is to advocate on behalf of someone who doesn’t have the means to hire private counsel,” she said. “I also have the experience of being in a position where people will look down on me because of either age or race or sexism, gender, whatever, and how that makes someone feel, which ties into wanting to bring compassion and integrity to the courtroom.”

Holly Stoberski

Stoberski has served as a judge pro tem in the Justice Court since 2011 and said she has presided over thousands of cases and learned how every department works. She said she could make a bigger impact as a permanent judge.

“I believe that I have the experience and I also possess the qualities that are inherent to being a good judge,” she said. “Being impartial, being fair, being able to listen, have honesty in my decision-making.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.