Supreme Court F - Cynthia 'Dianne' Steel

Place of residence: Las Vegas

Occupation: District court judge

Age: 53

Contact information:

Judge Steel for Supreme Court

420 N. Nellis Blvd., No. A-3; PMB 213

Las Vegas, Nevada 89110

(702) 393-4337

Incumbency: Candidate for office

Record of service: 1995 - Nevada Assemblywoman

1996 - Chief of Staff to Nevada's Lt. Governor

1997 - (to present) District Court Judge

Education: Valdosta State College, BFA

California Western School of Law, JD

Platform: During this campaign I have often heard that it is hard to decide who to vote for in judicial races. There is limited information which can be disclosed to the public about the judicial candidates. I hope this statement will help you with your decision. Thank you for taking the time.

There are seven Supreme Court Justices. I believe it makes sense that at least one of them has an extensive background in juvenile and family law. I have spent the past 10 years working in the area of juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, divorce, custody, termination of parental rights, etc., and I stand ready to work for improvement in these areas of law. Family law deserves a place on the Supreme Court in addition to criminal, contract, civil, construction defect, personal injury and malpractice.

In order to cut down on unnecessary appeals, the lawyers and judges rely on case law published by the Supreme Court. The courts cannot rely on unpublished opinions. My goal is to provide more published opinions for the community. The opinions are written already, they just need to be included in the Nevada Reports.

Courts are responsible for the interpretation of existing laws, not for the creation of new law. Currently the Supreme Court has broken itself into panels. Cases are heard by a portion of the court unless a request for another review by all seven justices is granted. This procedure is glaring evidence that it is time for Nevada to invest in an intermediate court of appeals, so the Supreme Court does not have to review its own appeals.