Michael Cherry (Nevada)
Michael A. Cherry was a justice of the Nevada Supreme Court from 2007 to 2019.[1] He was elected to this court on November 7, 2006.[2] He served as chief justice from May 7, 2012, until January 5, 2013, and in 2017.[3]
Cherry retired from the bench when his last term ended on January 6, 2019.[4] [5][6][7]
Education
Cherry received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri in 1966 and his J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in 1969.[8]
Career
After graduating from law school, Cherry became a deputy public defender in Clark County. From there he moved into private practice, first as an associate and later as a partner. He spent years concentrating on fire litigation with hotel chains before serving as an alternate municipal judge in Las Vegas and Henderson. In 1997, Cherry was chosen to lead the Clark County Special Public Defender's Office. One year later, he was elected to the Eighth District Court. Cherry was elected to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2006.[9]
Elections
2018
- See also: Nevada Supreme Court elections, 2018
Michael Cherry did not file to run for re-election.
2012
- See also: Nevada judicial elections, 2012
Cherry was re-elected to the Nevada Supreme Court after running unopposed in the general election on November 6, winning 73.25 percent of the vote.[5][10]
2006
In 2006, Cherry ran unopposed for a six-year term on the Nevada Supreme Court.
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Cherry  |
No | Seat C | 75% | ||
| None of these candidates | Seat C | 25% |
Election results are from the Nevada Secretary of State for the Primary Election and General Election.
[11]
Evaluations
2010 judicial performance evaluation
The Las Vegas Review Journal conducted a judicial performance evaluation in 2010. The survey asked state attorneys to rate judges on a variety of criteria. Of the 796 respondents, 73 percent recommended Judge Cherry for retention.[12][13]
2013 judicial performance evaluation
In 2013, the Las Vegas Review-Journal sponsored a survey of 902 lawyers who rated Nevada Supreme Court justices and judges located in Clark County. 79 percent of respondents voted in favor of keeping Cherry on the bench. The average vote in favor of retention for all 88 judges evaluated was 71 percent.[14]
Noteworthy cases
First Amendment rights
The Review-Journal successfully petitioned a District Court judge to lift an order preventing the media from identifying women who have accused Las Vegan Steven Newberg of rape. Cherry overturned a gag order that justice of the peace Ann Zimmerman had placed on the press, prohibiting the publication or broadcast of the names of three alleged rape victims who had appeared in open court and whose names are contained in the public record. Cherry ruled that the decision on whether to identify alleged rape victims who testify in court should be left to Las Vegas Valley media outlets. "I'm going to leave it to the (Las Vegas) Sun and the Review-Journal as to how they are going to handle it," he said.[15]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Cherry received a campaign finance score of -0.21, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -0.22 that justices received in Nevada.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[16]
See also
External link
- Supreme Court of Nevada, "Justice Michael A. Cherry"
- Project Vote Smart, "Justice Michael A. Cherry"
Footnotes
- ↑ The Daily Progress, "Michael Cherry to take turn as chief of Nevada Supreme Court," December 27, 2016
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2006 election results," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Nevada Supreme Court website, "Justice Michael A. Cherry," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "2 Nevada Supreme Court justices to retire," December 4, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 RGJ.com, "3 Nev. Supreme Court Justices run unopposed," January 23, 2012
- ↑ See Judicial selection in Nevada
- ↑ Nevada Judiciary, "Dates of Office," accessed March 30, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Michael A. Cherry (NV)," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Supreme Court of Nevada, "Justice Michael A. Cherry," accessed on November 16, 2017
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2012 Official Election Results: Statewide/Judicial," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Michael Cherry," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Judges' ratings have their ups, downs," May 9, 2010
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Lawyers speak up on judges," May 9, 2010
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "2013 Judicial Performance Evaluation," accessed September 23, 2014
- ↑ First Amendment Center, "Las Vegas newspaper asks judge to lift gag order in rape case," August 29, 2002
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nevada • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nevada
State courts:
Nevada Supreme Court • Nevada Court of Appeals • Nevada District Courts • Nevada Justice Courts • Nevada Municipal Courts • Clark County Family Court, Nevada
State resources:
Courts in Nevada • Nevada judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nevada
