PHILLIP GOMEZ / PVT Justice Michael Douglas spoke to the Nye County Democrats on Monday, telling them to trust him to follow the Nevada Constitution and not to play favorites or political games. Advertisement

Sitting Nevada Supreme Court Justice Michael Douglas told a Monday night gathering of Pahrump Democrats that he wants to be re-elected to Nevada's highest bench, saying he is trustworthy because of his record of integrity in not playing favorites when making difficult court decisions.

Douglas called attention to the last words of the "Pledge of Allegiance" -- something Nye County citizens are well familiar with, since it's recited at the start of practically every public meeting, civic, business or otherwise.

"That's what separates us from other countries in the world," Douglas asserted. Justice in the courts under the state constitution requires a blind application of the law to the litigious issues at hand.

"What do I do?" he said by way of introduction. "I protect your rights. We have the Constitution; that's what I have to follow."

Douglas said Nevada law has to be applied to everyone, not just to a select few who contribute to a justice's political campaign expecting returned favors.

Appointed to the Nevada District Court bench in 1995 by Gov. Bob Miller, Douglas was re-elected to a second term and became chief judge for the Eighth Judicial District in 2002.

Gov. Kenny C. Guinn appointed Douglas to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2004 to complete the term of Justice Myron E. Leavitt, and he was elected to complete the remaining years of the term later that same year.

Now he is running for election to the high court in his own right.

"I will continue to keep politics and agendas out of the courts," Douglas promises. "I will follow the Nevada Constitution. I will work hard for the good of our state and keep your trust.

Douglas then delved into the working life of a high-court judge, explaining that Nevada, like its sparse rural population, was "underjudged." Only 125 judges at all levels preside in Nevada courtrooms, he said.

That has made it difficult for the administration of justice when the courts have become clogged, as they have of late, with increased case loads of criminal prosecutions.

"The worst scourge is meth," said Douglas, naming the cause for the steep rise in much crime in recent years. Meth is "the thing you can make on a hotplate," said the judge of the ease of the substance's production.

"In the last four to five years, the courts in the state of Nevada by default have gotten into the drug court business -- for non-violent offences," he said. "We can't build enough jails."

The court system is also heavily involved in dealing with mental health issues, Douglas said. "That's a large part of your homeless population," he added.

"The easiest thing I did when I was on the district court was send people to jail," Douglas said; "the hardest part was putting people on probation."

Probation meant that the judge was taking a chance that the defendant had enough probity to stay out of trouble.

"Luckily, I never had anyone hurt somebody while on probation," he said.

The state Supreme Court was "a court of last error," Douglas said. The description fit, he added, because of the amount of time the high court spends on procedural reviews of lower court decisions, to ensure that defendants have obtained their due-process rights under the Constitution.

The most exciting time in the life of a sedate supreme court justice, said Douglas, is election season, when Nevada's high and mighty justices have to appeal to the people who elected them to the benches from which they serve.

"The court gets most of its attention this time of year," said Douglas.