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In business law quarterly state supreme court chief justice pushes for appeals court By Cy Ryan���staff writer CARSON CITY ��� Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Kristina Pickering said the number of appeals filed with the state���s high court is growing faster than justices can turn out decisions. The court has one of the highest, if not the highest, number of cases per justice in the nation, she said in delivering her State of the Judiciary Message to the Nevada Legislature this month. In 2012, 2,500 cases were filed with the court, she said. Pickering urged lawmakers to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that could be presented to voters in 2014 to create an intermediate threejudge court of appeals. A proposed constitutional resolution was passed by the 2011 Legislature and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this session. Pickering said voters in 2010 turned down a similar plan, but the public must be made aware of the serious problem in delay of court decisions. She said the backlog poses problems for individuals, businesses and the state. Furthermore, she said, a poll by the Retail Association shows that Nevadans now favor a court of appeals by 48 percent to 41 percent. law quarterly argument made for improved judicial security By Cy Ryan���staff writer Nevada Supreme Court justices don���t want personal bodyguards but they do want higher security at the courthouse in Carson City and adjoining offices. ���The security threats are real,��� Justice James Hardesty told a joint Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee. Capitol Police provide two officers who are stationed on the second floor of the building scanning the monitors, he said. But there is no security on the first floor of the law library and in an adjoining building that houses staff. Hardesty and Chief Justice Kristina Pickering went before the subcommittee to explain their $25 million budget for the coming two fiscal years. Included is money for the court���s own police staff. Hardesty said it would be paid for through savings from the elimination of the two Capitol Police officers. He was careful to say he did not want to be disrespectful to the two officers but added they sit in a room and only watch the screens that monitor only one floor of the three-story building. The court also has a chief of police on staff answerable to the justices, not to the Capitol Police. In Las Vegas, court marshals provide security. The justices receive threats in ���the mail and other items��� but they don���t want full-time bodyguards. As an example, he said Pickering works until 1��a.m. in Las Vegas and leaves the building unescorted. ���We need three officers��� for the courthouse in Carson City, Hardesty said. The court is also asking for two attorneys in Las Vegas to screen the increasing number of civil appeals. There were 2,500 appeals filed in 2012 but the maximum cases that can be handled by the seven justices are 2,270. By 2015, Hardesty said the back log would be 1,900 cases and that would grow to 3,300. | 25 MARCH 2013 20130325_VI17_F.indd 17 | DESIGNED FOR YOU AND YOUR PRACTICE ���BankingLeaderforLegalProfession ���DedicatedLegalBankingTeam ���ParticipatingIOLTAFinancialInstitution ���SettlementManagement 702.248.4200 3/13 bankofnevada.com Bank of Nevada is an affiliate of Western Alliance Bancorporation 17 3/21/13 2:25:07 PM