Fine still fighting decision to remove her from bench

A Former Clark County Family Court Judge Fran Fine, who lost a 1998 re-election bid, asked the Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday to cancel her blacklisting by the state Judicial Commission.

Attorney William Terry, representing Fine, argued that the commission went too far with its ''death sentence'' that prevents her from serving as a judge in the future.

The commission ruled that Fine committed several ethics violations by having conversations that failed to include both sides in child custody or other family-related cases and then made final rulings.

The Judicial Commission's October 1998 ruling was its second against Fine, first elected in 1992. In November 1995, the commission had ordered Fine to pay a $5,000 fine and gave her a letter of reprimand.

While Terry insisted Fine acted properly, Chief Justice Bob Rose it didn't always seem that way. ''In this judicial business, we are supposed to avoid things that don't look very good,'' he added.

Attorney Frank Cremen, representing the commission, said Fine handled cases in which ''the judicial process was just set aside. ... That's not the way the system works.''

The high court will rule at a later date.