Profiles in Judicial Excellence: Territorial and Supreme Court Justices in Nevada

by David A. Hardy

Overview

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.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647791858
Publisher:	University of Nevada Press
Publication date:	02/25/2025
Series:	Shepperson Series in Nevada History
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

Judge David A. Hardy, PhD, is a fifth-generation Nevadan. He was appointed by Governor Kenny Guinn to the Second Judicial District Court in 2005. Hardy graduated from Brigham Young University magna cum laude and with honors from Brigham Young University Law School. He earned an MA and a PhD in judicial studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. Hardy has published in legal journals and magazines, is a member of the American Law Institute, and has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a long-term faculty member at the National Judicial College and has frequently presented at state and national continuing education conferences. 

Read an Excerpt

The justices profiled in this book are more important than their individual lives. Together they are the authors of Nevada jurisprudence. Their work composes a system of laws that bind our communities through interpreting and enforcing contracts, defining property rights, assembling and disassembling families, seizing and awarding money, protecting victims and punishing predators, giving voice to the vulnerable, and ensuring equal protection and civil liberties for all. Through the work of the Nevada Supreme Court, the citizens of our great state may anticipate their affairs, be confident in the independence and integrity of judiciary, and enjoy public safety and social order.

Editorial Reviews

Judge Hardy offers us a much-needed history of the territorial judiciary of Nevada, warts and all, and how the machinations of that early judiciary played such a major role in Nevada becoming a state. His knowledge of the state’s early judiciary system is unsurpassed. This will be a book of considerable interest to devotees of Nevada history.”
—James Richardson, JD, PhD, professor emeritus of sociology and judicial studies, 1989 Foundation Professor, University of Nevada, Reno
 
“Profiles in Judicial Excellence will leave its readers knowing more about the history of Nevada’s territorial and Supreme Court justices than they could find in any other book. Hardy’s research is well organized, balanced, and beautifully written.”
—Kristina Pickering, Nevada Supreme Court Justice, lifetime member of the American Law Institute

From the Publisher