Michael Douglas
Michael L. Douglas was the chief justice on the Nevada Supreme Court. He also served as chief justice in 2011.[1] Douglas, the first black justice in Nevada’s history, was appointed by Republican Governor Kenny Guinn in March 2004 and took office on April 19, 2004.[2] He was elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2012.
Douglas retired from the bench when his last term ended on January 6, 2019.[3]
Education
Douglas received his undergraduate degree from California State College in 1971. He received his J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1974.[4]
Career
- 2004-2019: Justice, Nevada Supreme Court
- 1996-2004: Judge, Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court
- 1984-1996: Civil Division attorney, Clark County District Attorney’s Office
- 1982-1984: Attorney, Nevada Legal Services
- 1974-1982: Attorney in private practice[5]
Awards and associations
Associations
- Past president, Nevada American Inns of Court
- Member, Nevada Law Foundation
- Member, Consumer Credit Counseling Service[5]
Elections
2018
- See also: Nevada Supreme Court elections, 2018
Michael Douglas did not file to run for re-election.
2012
- See also: Nevada judicial elections, 2012
Douglas was re-elected to the supreme court after running unopposed in the general election on November 6, winning 74.26 percent of the vote.[6][7]
2006
| Candidate | Incumbent | Seat | Primary % | Election % |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Douglas  |
Yes | Seat F | 37% | 48.3% | |
| Cynthia Dianne Steel | No | Seat F | 32.9% | 36.2% | |
| None of these candidates | Seat F | 14.6% | 15.3% | ||
| John Calvert | Seat F | 15.3% |
Election results are from the Nevada Secretary of State for the Primary Election and General Election.
2004
Douglas was elected to the supreme court by voters on November 4, 2004, winning 49.9 percent of the vote.[8]
- For Douglas' contributions, expenses and financial disclosure reports, visit the Nevada Secretary of State website. In his 2006 race for the supreme court, Douglas raised $419,425 total.[9]
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, 72 percent recommended Douglas for retention.[10][11]
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. 74 percent of respondents voted in favor of keeping Douglas on the bench. The average vote in favor of retention for all 88 judges evaluated was 71 percent.[12]
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.
Douglas received a campaign finance score of -0.32, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more 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.[13]
See also
External links
- Supreme Court of Nevada, "Justice Michael Douglas"
- Legal Newsline, "Nevada AG asks Supreme Court to reconsider tax ruling," April 14, 2008
- Las Vegas Review Journal, "Nevada Supreme Court throws out spending control initiative--allows eminent domain to go before voters," September 9, 2006
Footnotes
- ↑ Nevada Appeal, "Michael Douglas to become chief justice of Nevada Supreme Court," December 31, 2010
- ↑ Nevada Supreme Court, "Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Nevada Judiciary, "Dates of Office," accessed March 30, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Michael L. Douglas (NV)," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Supreme Court of Nevada, "Justice Michael Douglas," accessed November 16, 2017
- ↑ Silver State, "Official Election Results: Statewide/Judicial," 2012
- ↑ RGJ.com, "3 Nev. Supreme Court Justices run unopposed," January 23, 2012
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "2004 Election results," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Michael Douglas," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "Judicial Performance Evaluation: Results"
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "Judicial Performance Evaluation: Methodology"
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "2013 Judicial Performance Evaluation," accessed September 23, 2014
- ↑ 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
