Federal and state rules are often ignored, some lawyers said. They cited a good-old-boy culture of cronyism and chumminess that accepted conflicts of interest as "business as usual" and as part of Nevada's maverick history of government-sanctioned prostitution, gambling, drive-through marriages and quickie divorces.
"The common excuse is that this is the way it's always been done -- fast and loose -- the wild, wild West," said Las Vegas attorney Charles W. Bennion. "But the people making those excuses are the only ones that benefit, and they want it to stay that way."
A common perception among a dozen out-of-state lawyers interviewed about their experiences in Nevada courtrooms is that justice in Las Vegas is just another form of legalized gambling.
"I don't think what goes on in Nevada bears any resemblance to a justice system," said John C. Kirkland, a Santa Monica attorney. He said he had clients who were victimized in Las Vegas courts. "It's an old-boy network. It's not a legal system."
Justice in Nevada, conceded Cal Potter III, a veteran Las Vegas lawyer, is such that "outside law firms just don't trust Nevada courtrooms."
Many blame the campaign funding practices of district judges who have to run for office. "There should be a provision in the law prohibiting judges from directly soliciting a campaign contribution," said state Judge Brent Adams of Reno. "The one standard for a judicial candidate in Nevada today is, 'How much money can you raise?' "
During the most recent Nevada election in which all district judgeships in Las Vegas were on the ballot, 17 incumbents raised more than $1.7 million in campaign funds, collecting much of it from lawyers and casinos with cases pending before them, campaign financial reports and court records show. At least 90% of all contributions for the election, held Nov. 5, 2002, came from lawyers and casinos.
Frequently, a donation was dated within days of when a judge took action in the contributor's case, the records show. Occasionally the contribution was dated the same day.
"It can seem like a shakedown," conceded Jeffrey Sobel, a judge who lost his seat -- and that was the point. Sobel collected donations of $1,000 to $5,000 each from 39 attorneys or law firms while their cases were pending in his courtroom, records show. The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline investigated him after learning that he had discussed campaign contributions during a conference on a case pending before him. Commission records show Sobel told one attorney that "he was f---ed because he hadn't contributed while others had."
