Halverson seeks to avoid standing for election
Proving she still has a few tricks the sleeve of her judicial robe, Judge Elizabeth Halverson has filed a writ of mandamus with the Supreme Court of Nevada claiming she is entitled to a six year term, and should not have to run for reelection this year. Halverson claims that the additions to judicial positions for the Eighth Judicial district in 2005 in SB 195, including her own department 23, with an initial term of two years, violates Nev. Const., Article 6, § 5, setting the terms of judgeships at six years. She's seeking to prevent the election for her seat from occurring.
Clever argument, although it does kind of suggest she despairs of winning reelection fair and square.
But I wonder if perhaps Judge Halverson considered what could happen if SB 195 were held unconstitutional. Of course, there would be a severability argument, but couldn’t there also be strong arguments that the judicial positions created are invalid entirely or ineffective unless the election was expressly for a six yer term? Not that such invalidation would be a good thing, since a lot more would be at stake than her position - including two other departments. But those arguments seem kind of obvious to me.
Don't blame Halverson's lawyers for this one. She filed the writ pro se.
Thanks to Jon Ralston and the Las Vegas Sun for posting the writ.
