In September 2005 NCPE was asked by Common Cause and P.L.A.N. to read an early draft of "Supreme Jackpot II", their study of campaign contributions made to Nevada Supreme Court candidates in 2004. Due to the gravity of the issue facing Nevada when judges must ask lawyers and litigants for money, and lawyers must contribute or risk a hostile atmosphere, we developed a press release and began to work on how Nevada might better select its judges. We learned that in 1993 Chief Justice Robert Rose had led a Commission to study the Nevada Judiciary, which led to recommendations for change. Some of these were not heeded, and Judge Rose and the Commission wrote a Supplement in 2003. Studying these documents, we developed a letter to Gov. Guinn asking for a Special Commission to be created in 2006. Because his term expires soon and he could not see such a Commission through to completion, he recommended that we turn to Chief Justice Rose and offer to help in any way we could. Since the L. A. Times' expose of "Juice vs. Justice" in Nevada, we have renewed our commitment to work with Judge Rose and all Nevadans on these issues. Our Committee on Judicial Selection, Performance Evaluation and Discipline will develop a study comparing some other states' current practices with those in Nevada, and offer constructive recommendations. Here is our April 14, 2006 letter to Judge Rose
