I found this fascinating article, and I thought I'd share. It's an exploration of just one Vegas judge, who has a history of using his connections
to make his friends rich. He's endemic of the system, and I thought it a pretty good run down of some of the problems facing, not just Vegas/Nevada,
but the nation as a whole.
Some of these judges think they're King Kong, and the people who suffer are invariably those without the power to match them at their own game.
Link
In this town, people speak reverently of having juice, or an "in," and Mahan — bearded, likable but sometimes caustic — has made it a striking
feature in his courtroom. First as a state judge and now as a federal judge, he has approved more than $4.8 million in judgments and fees during more
than a dozen cases in which a recent search of court records found no statement that he disclosed his relationships with those who benefited from his
decisions.
On the state bench for three years, and since his appointment as a U.S. District Court judge four years ago by President Bush, Mahan has approved many
of these fees for Swarts, a certified public accountant who had served as his judicial campaign treasurer and whose political connections got him
appointed. Mahan approved additional fees for Frank A. Ellis III, 51, a former law partner with whom the judge still owned property and participated
in a profit-sharing plan. Ellis also provided free legal services for Mahan's family and for his executive judicial assistant.
Mahan, like a number of Las Vegas judges, has taken on cases despite state and federal prohibitions against such apparent conflicts. Some Las Vegas
judges have ruled in cases involving their friends, even those to whom they owe money.
Now, this goes on everywhere. Every country, every state, almost without exception. Favor-trading is as old as human society.
But we hold judges to a much higher standard, because we give them an enormous amount of power (ostensibly for the common good). Of all the states,
Nevada is not the worst. Although, since Katrina swept NO into the sea, Nevada may very well be a contender for the top spot, right up there with
Texas and Mississippi.
This one man is the tip of a very stinky iceberg. I encourage anyone interested to delve a little deeper, and come to some sort of understanding
about where this is leading us, and why.
It certainly is not for the common good...