Nancy Saitta

Nancy Saitta
Current Court Information:
Nevada Supreme Court
Title:	Justice
Position:	Seat G
Service:
Active:	2006-2019
Chief:	2011-2012
Past position:	Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court
Past term:	1998-2006
Past position:	Judge
Personal History
Party:	Democratic
Bachelors:	Wayne State University, 1983
Law School:	Wayne State University, 1986
Candidate 2012:
Candidate for:	Supreme Court
State:	Nevada
Election information 2012:
Incumbent:	Yes
Election date:	November 6, 2012
Election vote:	73.32%A

Nancy M. Saitta is a justice on the Nevada Supreme Court. She served as Chief Justice of the Court from September 5th, 2011 until May 6, 2012. She was elected to the Supreme Court on November 7, 2006. Saitta's current term expires in 2019.

Education

Saitta received her B.S. degree in 1983 and her J.D. in 1986 from Wayne State University.

Career

After law school, Saitta served as a criminal defense attorney in Detroit, Michigan. After moving to Las Vegas, she spent some time in private practice. From there she became a Senior Deputy Attorney General and Children's Advocate for the state of Nevada. Her first judicial service was for the Las Vegas Municipal Court, which Saitta joined in 1996. She only served in this capacity for two years, when she was elected judge on the Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court. It was here she stayed until her election to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2006.

Awards and Associations

• 2012 Woman of Achievement, awarded by the Nevada Women’s Fund
• "For the Children" Award, Office of the Nevada Attorney General
• District Attorney Outstanding Service Award
• 2005 One of the Top 500 Judges in America, Law Dragon publication
• 2001 Child Advocate of the Year
• 2000 Angels in Adoption Award, U.S. Congress
• Former Member, Nevada State Juvenile Justice Commission

Performance evaluations

2010 judicial survey

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, 50% recommended Judge Saitta for retention, and 50% recommended she not be retained. Hers was the lowest rating of any Nevada Supreme Court justice in 2010.

2008 performance evaluation

Saitta received a significantly lower retention rating than any of her peers in the 2008 Judicial Performance Evaluation survey, winning the approval of only 45 percent of respondents. The next lowest retention rating belonged to Justice James W. Hardesty, who scored 26 points higher than Saitta. All the justices but Saitta got retention scores in the 70s and 80s. The average retention score for the seven justices, including Saitta, was 74 percent. Lawyers were asked to rate justices "more than adequate," "adequate," or "less than adequate" on nine job-related attributes ranging from application of the law to courteousness. For every justice except Saitta, the lawyers' ratings averaged more than 50 percent "more than adequate." But in Saitta's case, the average score was only 32 percent "more than adequate," and 33 percent "less than adequate."

Saitta saw a decline in her results compared to two years ago, when she was a Clark County district judge. In 2006, 70 percent of respondents favored retaining her. Later that year, she won a six-year term to the Supreme Court, ousting then-Chief Justice Nancy Becker. Of more than 300 attorneys who evaluated Saitta, the largest number rated her most deficient in the area of properly applying the law. Five out of seven justices got their lowest marks in this category, while two were criticized most often for having a perceived bias toward parties or attorneys in a case. Saitta was scolded by some attorneys for recent extra-judicial missteps. In written comments, several attorneys chastised Saitta for inflating her academic credentials on an election Web site. Saitta listed herself as having been an associate professor in political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas when, in reality, she was a part-time instructor at the university. "When her résumé is stripped of falsehoods, there is nothing left but her robe," one lawyer wrote. Some lawyers questioned Saitta's legal competence, but none cited specific rulings that bothered them.

Elections

2012 election

Saitta was re-elected after running unopposed in the general election on November 6, winning 73.32% of the vote.

See also: Nevada judicial elections, 2012

2006

• In her 2006 run for Nevada's highest court, Saitta raised $646,131 total.

• Saitta defeated incumbent Nancy Becker, winning 46.55% of the vote.

See also

• News: Incumbent Nevada Supreme Court judges face no opposition in coming election, January 31, 2012
• News: Appeal of death row inmate denied, February 25, 2011

External links

• Nevada Judiciary, Justice Nancy M. Saitta
• Project Vote Smart, Justice Nancy M. Saitta (NV)
• Follow the Money: Nancy M. Saitta
• Los Angeles Times, "Money talker, but to the wrong guy", May 17, 2008

References