Carson City resident selected as finalists for Douglas judgeship

Carson City resident David Sarnowski is a finalist to replace Douglas County Judge Michael Gibbons.

Other finalists named Wednesday included: Douglas County prosecutor Tom Gregory, 45, along with Reno resident Douglas Rands. All three were selected by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection.

All three names will go to Gov. Brian Sandoval, who will make the final decision.

There’s no requirement the appointee live in Douglas County, but if someone out of the county is selected, that person must move to Douglas County.

A total of 13 attorneys submitted applications for the vacancy. Applicants had to be Nevada attorneys with two years of residency and 10 years of legal experience.

In selecting the nominees, the commission considered the applicants’ interviews along with information in comprehensive applications about education, law practice, business involvement, community involvement, and professional and personal conduct. The commission also considered letters of reference and public statements during the interview process.

The commission is composed of seven permanent members — the Supreme Court Chief Justice, three nonattorneys appointed by the governor and three attorneys appointed by the State Bar of Nevada.

Neither the Governor nor the Bar may appoint more than two permanent members from the same political party, and cannot appoint two members from the same county.

The applications of the nominees, with the exceptions of medical records and personal identification information, are available on the Supreme Court of Nevada website at: http://www.nevadajudiciary.us/index.php/judicialselection.

For District Court vacancies, two temporary members are appointed from the judicial district where the vacancy occurs — a nonattorney by the governor and an attorney by the State Bar — bringing the Commission membership to nine.

The Commission members are:

Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Hardesty, Chair; Valerie Cooney, Carson City, past executive director of Volunteer Attorneys for Rural Nevada (State Bar appointee); Jeffrey Gilbert, Henderson, veteran gaming executive (Governor appointee); Jesse Gutierrez, Sparks, former executive director of Nevada Hispanic Services (Governor appointee); Gregory Kamer, Las Vegas, with Kamer Zucker Abbott (State Bar appointee).

Jasmine Mehta, Carson City, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (State Bar appointee); Leslie M. Williams, Schurz, Administrative Assistant for Washoe County Senior Services (Governor appointee); Justina Alyce Caviglia, Minden, Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, (Temporary member); Judy Keele, Gardnerville (Temporary member).