Chief Justice Ron D. Parraguirre has assumed the administrative post of the Nevada Supreme Court from Justice James W. Hardesty.
Parraguirre is a fourth generation Nevadan and a second generation judge. His family emigrated from the Basque country to western Nevada in the 1870s to ranch the country south of Carson City.
With the exception of the Nevada Court of Appeals, Parraguirre has served at every level of the courts in the Nevada Judiciary. He has also received and maintained among the highest ratings in the biannual judicial surveys during his tenure on the bench.
During the next year, Parraguirre will focus, among other tasks, his efforts on improving the Supreme Court’s pro bono efforts and support specialty courts throughout the state.
The Court of Appeals also will factor in the chief justice’s plans for the coming year.
The chief justice has a variety of responsibilities as administrative head of the state’s legal system and represents the Nevada judiciary with state and local officials and nationally.
During his term, Hardesty was elected second vice president and a member of the Board of Directors for the Conference of Chief Justices of the United States.
The chief justice presides when the Supreme Court sits as an En Banc court and a majority vote of the full court is necessary for any major action. The chief justice does not serve as a member of a three-justice panel to hear cases, but does substitute for other justices on panels who must recuse because of conflicts.
Parraguirre will serve as Chief Justice until the end of 2016.
