Nevada Supreme Court Justice Abbi Silver retired on Sept. 29, 2022. Silver was the only judge in Nevada’s history to be elected to every court in the state’s court system.
Silver was elected to the state supreme court in 2018, filling the seat vacated by Justice Michael Douglas. Prior to this election, Silver served on the Nevada Court of Appeals from 2015 to 2019. She was one of three judges appointed to form the court, which was created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment. Silver became chief judge of the court on Jan. 2, 2017. She also served on the Las Vegas Municipal Court, Las Vegas Justice Court, and the Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court.
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Selection solicits and screens applicants. The commission presents a list of three nominees to the governor, who appoints one to fill the vacancy until the next general election. If the predecessor’s term is not expiring that election cycle, the appointed justice must win election to the court in order to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
In 2022, there have been 19 supreme court vacancies in 14 of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed instead of elected. The vacancies were caused by retirements.
Additional reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Supreme_Court_justice_vacancy_(September_2022)
https://ballotpedia.org/State_supreme_court_vacancies,_2022
https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Supreme_Court
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