1. Assembly Bill No. 50–Committee on Judiciary

CHAPTER........

AN ACT relating to the court system; revising the provisions relating to the authority of a

chief judge in a judicial district that includes a county whose population is 100,000

or more; providing for the establishment of procedures for addressing certain

grievances of parties in such a judicial district; and providing other matters properly

relating thereto.

 

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Chapter 3 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto the

provisions set forth as sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act.

Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,

the words and terms defined in sections 3 and 4 of this act have the

meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

Sec. 3. "Chief judge" means a district judge who is chosen as the

chief judge of a judicial district pursuant to NRS 3.025.

Sec. 4. "Family court" means the division of the district court that is

established as a family court pursuant to NRS 3.0105.

  1. Sec. 5. 1. In each judicial district that includes a county whose
  1. population is 100,000 or more, in addition to the other duties set forth in
  1. NRS 3.025:
  1. (a) The chief judge shall ensure that:
  1. (1) The procedures which govern the consideration and disposition
  1. of cases and other proceedings within the jurisdiction of the district court
  1. are applied as uniformly as practicable; and
  1. (2) Cases and other proceedings within the jurisdiction of the district
  1. court are considered and decided in a timely manner.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the chief judge shall

establish procedures for addressing grievances that are:

(1) Submitted to the chief judge by a party in a case or other

proceeding within the jurisdiction of the district court; and

(2) Directly related to the administration of the case or other

proceeding.

2. For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection 1, a party in a case

or other proceeding within the jurisdiction of the district court may not

submit to the chief judge a grievance that:

(a) Addresses, in whole or in part, the merits of the case or other

proceeding; or

(b) Challenges, in whole or in part, the merits of any decision or ruling

in the case or other proceeding that is made by:

(1) The district court; or

(2) A master or other person who is acting pursuant to an order of

the district court or pursuant to any authority that is granted to the master

or other person by a specific statute, including, without limitation, NRS

3.405, 3.475 and 3.500.

Sec. 6. NRS 3.0105 is hereby amended to read as follows:

  1. 3.0105 1. There is hereby established, in each judicial district that
  1. includes a county whose population is 100,000 or more, a family court as a
  1. division of the district court.
  1. 2. If the caseload of the family court so requires, the [presiding judge of
  1. the district, or the district judges by mutual consent in a district in which
  1. there is no presiding judge,] chief judge may assign one or more district
  1. judges of the judicial district to act temporarily as judges of the family
  1. court.
  1. 3. If for any reason a judge of the family court is unable to act, any
  1. other district judge of the judicial district may be assigned as provided in
  1. subsection 2 to act temporarily as judge of the family court.
  1. 4. A district judge assigned to the family court pursuant to subsection 2
  1. or 3 for a period of 90 or more days must attend the instruction required
  1. pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 3.028. [Judges] District judges must not be
  1. assigned to the family court pursuant to subsections 2 and 3 on a rotating
  1. basis.

Sec. 7. NRS 3.025 is hereby amended to read as follows:

  1. 3.025 1. [For the second and eighth judicial districts,] In each
  1. judicial district that includes a county whose population is 100,000 or
  1. more, the district judges of that judicial district shall [, on the first judicial
  1. day of each year,] choose from among [the judges of each district a] those
  1. district judges a chief judge who is to be the presiding judge of the judicial
  1. district.
  1. 2. The [presiding judge of the district] chief judge shall:
  1. (a) Assign cases to each judge in the judicial district;
  1. (b) Prescribe the hours of court; [and]
  1. (c) Adopt such other rules or regulations as are necessary for the orderly
  1. conduct of court business [.
  1. 3. On or before the 15th day of the month following, the presiding
  1. judge of the district] ; and
  1. (d) Perform all other duties of the chief judge or of a presiding judge
  1. that are set forth in this chapter and any other provision of NRS.
  1. 3. Not later than 15 days after the last day of each month, the chief
  1. judge shall submit [a written report] to the clerk of the supreme court [each
  1. month, showing:] a written report that shows:
  1. (a) Those cases which are pending and undecided and to which judge the
  1. cases have been assigned;
  1. (b) The type and number of cases each judge considered during the
  1. preceding month;
  1. (c) The number of cases submitted to each judge during the preceding
  1. month;
  2. (d) The number of cases decided by each judge during the preceding
  1. month; and
  1. (e) The number of full judicial days in which each judge appeared in
  1. court or in chambers in performance of his duties during the preceding
  1. month.

Sec. 8. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.

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