Mike Foley, currently one of two pro tempore justices of the peace, confirmed he will run for the permanent position in November.

Foley was hired by the county commission to lighten Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill's load.

Since his appointment he has held the gavel for five days and heard what he estimates to be 150 cases, mostly criminal, in Pahrump Justice Court.

With the commissioners' approval of a second JP position in November, Foley hopes to have a permanent seat on the bench, in spite of his admission that "it's not as easy as it looks."

Foley, who used to prosecute his own small claims cases in the courts, completed his judicial training at the National Judicial College in Reno.

In addition, Foley has taken a number of classes in subjects that include family law, criminal law, public administration, and criminal evidence and court procedure.

As of yet, he hasn't had an appeal filed in the wake of any criminal case rulings.

"The responsibility is tremendous, but once I got familiar with the system it was fine," Foley said.

"I was a smidgeon overwhelmed on my first day," Foley admitted about his first time on the bench. "I went to lunch and didn't want to go back. But I did go back, and I've loved it ever since."

Foley unsuccessfully ran against Brisebill in 2006 but still garnered 1,031 votes and came in third in the primary. (Brisebill won with just over 2,600 votes.)

Whoever wins the election as Pahrump's second JP, they'll most likely be kept busy with Pahrump's increasing case load.

In 2006, 1,318 criminal cases were filed in addition to 1,415 civil cases and 2,733 non-traffic cases.