Review-Journal endorsement: Las Vegas Justice Court, Department 8
Justice Courts in Nevada hear misdemeanors, hold preliminary hearings and render judgement in small civil cases and eviction matters. Four judgeships in Las Vegas Justice Court are before voters.
In Department 8, Nancy Bernstein faces Amy Ferreira. Both contenders are eminently qualified.
Ms. Bernstein was born and raised in Las Vegas and has 15 years experience in private practice dealing with both criminal and civil matters. Her approach as a judge would be “to listen, pay attention and to be compassionate.”
Ms. Ferreira has spent the past 13 years in the district attorney’s office as a prosecutor. In 2020, she was appointed as a hearing master in Justice Court. That experience, she argues, has prepared her for the “next step.” Ms. Ferreira says judicial secrecy “gives the wrong impression” to taxpayers: “These are public proceedings.”
Either candidate would likely do well on the bench. But four year’s as a hearing master give Amy Ferreira a leg up.