The Nevada judiciary began with territorial judges appointed by President Abraham Lincoln and transitioned to elected judges after statehood in 1864. The courts officiated by these judges have influenced the evolution of Nevada from a territory created in the chaos of mining litigation; through the expansion of divorce, gaming, and tourism jurisprudence; to what is now a vibrant venue for commercial development and corporate law. Along the way, the state’s judges weighed in on issues of civil liberties, water rights, personal injury, and a variety of other legal subjects affecting all Nevada citizens. The collective work of these courts has solidified the rule of law and allowed Nevadans to live peacefully.
Until the publication of Judge David A. Hardy’s Profiles in Judicial Excellence: Territorial and Supreme Court Justices of Nevada, there has been no single source containing biographies of these influential figures from the state’s history from 1861 to 1997. Hardy curates various sources and presents profiles of these judges in sequential order of their service. He also examines the influence of territorial judges in the 1864 vote for statehood. The Nevada judiciary has played an integral, but often unrecognized, role in shaping the unique character of the Silver State.